Private subdivision road upkeep bedevils Gilbert | EastValleyTribune.com
This story is what triggered the editorial linked below. Crumbling private streets coupled with no money to fix them is going to be a huge and growing problem in the years to come, for HOAs across the nation. Finally a public official uses the same term I've been using: "timb bomb."

t least 90 subdivisions in Gilbert are facing a “ticking time bomb” when it comes to their privately owned roads, town officials say. The problem comes after several years of wear and tear start to show and residents start wondering when the town’s government is going to get around to fixing their streets. But in developments with private streets, residents or their homeowners associations are responsible for maintaining the roads. And as these neighborhoods grow older, their deteriorating streets become a problem for the entire town. As a result, the problem has been dropped in the Town Council’s lap as Gilbert helps look for solutions. “It’s a time bomb because, basically, these homeowners associations don’t know what the costs are,” Gilbert Town Manager George Pettit said.