Excite curiosity in street repairs (8)
I believe the answer is:
interest
'excite curiosity' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'in street repairs' is the wordplay.
'repairs' indicates an anagram (I've seen 'repair' mean this (letters are fixed or repaired)).
'street' with letters rearranged gives 'terest'.
'in'+'terest'='INTEREST'
(Other definitions for interest that I've seen before include "intrigue" , "Charge for money borrowed" , "earnings" , "Deep concern - premium paid for use of money" , "Fascinate" .)