Why did the fried-chicken maker cross the road? To fill the potholes, of course.

The folks at KFC recently cooked up an appetizing offer for cash-strapped cities: The restaurant chain will fix crater-ridden streets for free if they're allowed to brand repairs with a chalked-on message saying that the road has been "Re-Freshed by KFC."

Company president Roger Eaton put the deal on the table last week in an open letter to America's mayors. KFC intends to select four towns to receive "a smooth drive that is fit for a colonel." KFC started the project in its hometown of Louisville, Ky., to market its "Fresh Tastes Best" campaign. A "professional road repair crew" performs all of the work, filling the holes with .$?.$?. well, we can only assume that it's some sort of secret recipe.

It's a tempting opportunity. Let's see if Cleveland or other Northeast Ohio towns bite on it.

Checkups:

Do you have car insurance? In Ohio, that's a $728,603.20 question.

That's the amount of cash set aside this year for a mailing program asking random motorists to verify coverage. Records show that the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles allocated enough dollars to send out more than 5,400 proof of insurance forms per week.

Roughly one in 20 motorists can expect a "Dear Vehicle Owner" letter, which orders a snappy response with the requested documentation in order to avoid a license suspension.

The program started a decade ago. It's time for it to go, according to some lawmakers. A pair of state representatives -- Bob Hagan, a Democrat from Youngstown, and Matt Huffman, a Republican from Lima -- introduced a bill last month seeking to eliminate the hit-and-miss mailings.

The goal, Hagan said, is to create a simpler system to confirm that Ohioans follow the law and carry insurance. One idea may be for motorists to show proof of insurance whenever they renew license plates or their driver's license.

"We need to rearrange the verification program in a way that is cheaper and doesn't harass people," Hagan said.

It's hard to argue with that.

Vanishing act:

There's certainly a reason for the marker facing Parkland Boulevard motorists turning onto Lander Road in Mayfield Heights. What is it? Sorry, Road Rant's drawing a blank .$?.$?. just like the sign.

The full text on what certainly started out as a No Parking notice faded long ago. All that remains is a bisected letter P on the top portion of the weathered marker. Given the lean of this street-side marker, it qualifies as worn out in more ways than one.

It's time to retire this sign, Mayfield Heights. That message seems clears.

Bulb planting:

Cleveland greened up State Road.

City workers replaced a burnt-out bulb in a traffic signal at State and Burger Avenue, adding some needed shine -- and motorist guidance -- to the intersection just north of Interstate 480. Road Rant reported on that no-go green light earlier this month.

Blank lights, by the way, appear to be popping up like spring daffodils. Don't worry, Cleveland: We'll let you know where they are. Here are two more in need of fixing.

The green is out facing northbound lanes on State at Biddulph Avenue.

The red is out facing northbound lanes on West Boulevard at Clifton Road.

Illuminating:

Power to the people.

Cleveland repaired out-of-order street lights along Carnegie Avenue between Stearns Road and Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. The work took place after a note on the outage appeared in Road Rant. "Hooray," e-mailed the tipster who passed along the initial complaint.