Potholes with genital graffiti fixed, City of Portland urges online reporting

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – The Portland Bureau of Transportation said it has fixed the potholes marked with genital graffiti, but is asking residents to stick to filing reports online.

As first reported by the Oregonian, a Reddit user shared a photo

this weekend showing phallic graffiti painted around potholes in the city.

A PBOT spokesperson told KOIN 6 News that they received a pothole report for the location on Sunday. By Monday morning, she said PBOT crews had located the site on Northeast 21st Street near the Interstate 84 overpass.

She said they repaired the pothole as well as the graffiti by midday Monday, but urges people to stick to reporting potholes online using pdxreporter.org or by calling 311.

“Rarely do we see these types of drawings around potholes,” she said. “In 2024, almost 8,500 potholes were reported and our crews filled 15,000. To my knowledge none of them had paint or drawings associated with them.”

PBOT workers try to repair potholes within 30 days of receiving a report. For 2025, to date, the city has received 4,303 pothole reports. The agency said they have repaired 7,119 so far this year.

The extra potholes are filled when PBOT responds to reports. The spokesperson said that if workers see other potholes while they’re responding to a report, they’ll fill those too.

The agency also organizes proactive repair events, like its 2024 “March Madness” campaign to fill potholes following winter storms.