SAN DIEGO — A nine-year-old San Diego girl is on a mission to get the city to fix a deteriorating portion of Nobel Drive near Villa La Jolla Drive.
“There’s chipping and cracks over here,” Lucy Tebcherani said as she pointed out the problem. Lucy's grandparents live close by, so she’s in the area often. Recently, she started asking questions about why the road has cracks, bumps and pot holes.
"There's been many times where after school Papa picks me up and I open my water bottle for a drink of water and suddenly hit some sort of pothole and I spill it all over myself," Lucy said.
Lucy calls it both a safety hazard and a bad look for the city.
“We're supposed to be America’s Finest City," she said. "Fixed roads are safer and just look better."
Lucy argues while there may be roads elsewhere that look worse, she doesn't want the same thing to happen here, so it's better to fix it now.
“It's best to take care of problems as they happen, so they don't become big,” Lucy said.
Wanting to make a difference, Lucy wrote a letter to the city, in part asking, "Please give me valid reasoning as to why the road has not been fixed even though roads in neighboring areas have been fixed."
She also posted about her concerns on Nextdoor, generating dozens of mostly supportive comments. But, so far, she hasn't gotten any updates.
CBS 8 reached out to the city on her behalf.
A spokesperson said they don't have any resurfacing work planned for this location at this time.
CBS 8 pressed them on what Lucy and her supporters can do to add Nobel Drive to the long list of other city roads that need improvements. We are still waiting for a response.
Meanwhile, CBS 8 reached out directly to San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria's office.
His spokesperson said Gloria will respond to Lucy’s letter.
In the meantime, Lucy says she'll continue to advocate for change, saying anyone at any age can do the same.
"You don't have to be big or brave to make a difference. You just need to be willing to speak up."
At CBS 8, we are always Working for You and our community. This is a station promise that we will go the extra mile to solve a problem our audience can’t solve themselves. We want to hear your ideas on how we can cover and help our community. If you have a story idea, please email us at workingforyou@cbs8.com.
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