At a "fork in the road," San Diego unveils pricey plan to fix crumbling streets
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San Diego's streets are crumbling and the city is proposing a plan to increase annual spending on road repairs by roughly 4x over the next eight years to get them back up to industry standard.
Driving the news: City officials announced the Pavement Management Plan on Thursday along with the release of a new survey that shows San Diego's streets fell from "satisfactory" into the "fair" category overall (from a score of 71 in 2016 to 63 in 2023).
- And more than one-third of city streets were rated "poor," "very poor," "serious" or "failed" due to a "lack of consistent funding."
- Context: The "fair" rating means street surfaces are relatively smooth with occasional, minor cracks or surface distress and noticeable signs of wear and aging, per the report.
Catch up quick: Last year, the city sent a van equipped with lasers to measure potholes and pavement smoothness on its 2,800 miles of paved roadways to assess damage and inform future spending on maintenance and repairs.
Details: The report outlines pavement conditions, funding needs and sources, how streets are selected for fixes and planned resurfacing work.
- It projects continuing degradation to "poor" condition in the next five years without major investments.
- The city's funding proposal shows it would reach its pavement condition goal of 70 or higher, which is "satisfactory," within eight years.
By the numbers: The city wants to spend $213 million on average annually on street maintenance and rehabilitation to reach that goal.
- $46.4 million was the annual average between fiscal years 2013 and 2023.
- $1.9 billion is the total 10-year investment needed to improve and preserve the streets and keep that 70 score, while reducing long-term costs.
What they're saying: "We truly face a decision point as a city," Bethany Bezak, director of San Diego's Transportation Department, told the Union-Tribune. "If we don't invest any more than our typical $46 million, in 10 years we will be at a 45 rating. We are at a fork in the road."
Reality check: In his recent State of the City address, Mayor Todd Gloria touted the city's work filling more than 60,000 potholes and repairing and resurfacing 252 miles of streets in 2023 — both major increases over previous years.
- Plus, he dedicated a record $140 million in the 2024 fiscal year budget to fix streets.
- Yes, but: Even with these efforts, streets across the city worsen everyday and this survey shows all the repaving and infrastructure work since 2016 hasn't prevented conditions from getting worse.
- The ask for more money also comes as the city faces $1.5 billion in budget deficits over the next five years.
Zoom out: The city maintains the second largest network of streets and alleys in California, but it's below the state average rating (65) and ranks far worse than comparable cities.
Be smart: Residents can use the website streets.sandiego.gov to see how their neighborhood scores, which streets are scheduled for repairs and when, the type of work and whether it's funded.