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flood of friends from Europe have been visiting me in Manhattan. Mostly, they are thrilled by what they see: New York in springtime is radiant, with sunny skies, budding trees and a sense of giddy optimism in the air. But as the visitors pass through, they often ask: why are the roads so bad? According to the New York City Department of Transportation, a whopping 160,000 potholes were filled between December 2014 and March this year alone (almost 500,000 were repaired last year).
In spite of all that new tarmac, the streets remain pocked with so many holes, cracks and crevasses that driving round the city can feel like a developing-world adventure. Cars are constantly bumping up and down or swerving to avoid holes and orange cones.
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