SAN DIEGO — San Diego city streets are in disrepair.
A new city survey released in early January downgraded San Diego's overall "pavement rating" from satisfactory to fair.
And as the city works to dig itself out from the negative rating, taxpayers continue to foot the bill to pay for the damages to vehicles from hitting thousands of potholes citywide.
CBS 8 obtained data that the city of San Diego paid out more in pothole-related damages last year than it had over the course of the past five years.
City data shows the city paid $409,145 last year to drivers who submitted legal claims to get reimbursed for damages to their cars, whether that meant near tires, rims, or axles.
The total number of payouts grows even higher when factoring in pothole-related injuries for those on e-bikes, bicycles, and pedestrians.
Last year, the city paid $170,000 to a person who fell off of their e-bike after hitting a pothole. The city paid another $50,000 to a person who struck a pothole while riding their bike as well as $35,000 to a pedestrian who stepped in a pothole. After factoring in those non-car related pothole claims, the city paid $668,645 last year alone.
In a statement to CBS 8, a city spokesperson said that the city is filling more potholes than in years prior, with more than 61,000 filled in 2023 alone.
"The city is patching more potholes than ever," said the spokesperson. "There are more potholes forming due to decreased pavement conditions, in addition to the record-breaking wet winter of 2022."
Ricky McColley says he had to spend $500 on tires that were damaged by potholes while driving on Clairemont Mesa Boulevard.
"I lost a rim here and had two buy two tires on potholes," said McColley.
He says he tried to call the city but got no where.
"I tried to call the city 80 times no one picks up," said McColley.
After heavy rains, pothole reports on the City's Get It Done go up.
The city spokesperson told CBS 8 that the street division is working tirelessly to plug the pockmarked roads.
"In response to a powerful rain event that broke records as the fourth wettest day in San Diego history, the City of San Diego is now assessing damage and cleaning up areas impacted by Monday's storm," said the spokesperson. "Teams from the City's Transportation Department are in the field removing mud and sand from affected areas and addressing damage to public sidewalks and streets. Now and in the coming weeks, the City is devoting resources as appropriate to this emergency clean-up and will be shifting to an all-hands-on-deck approach to patching the preponderance of potholes that have formed as a consequence of recent rain and wet conditions. The Transportation Department regularly deploys up to nine pothole crews every day to fill potholes reported through the Get It Done App."
To file a pothole claim click here. If you can safely get a picture of the pothole around the time of the incident please include that in the report.
To file a pothole report on Get It Done click here.
To review the San Diego Street Paving Project click here.