SAN DIEGO — A recent San Diego County grand jury report found that road repairs in the city are suffering from a lack of funding – and the shortfall is only expected to get worse. The report also found the city needs to do a better job in planning for future repairs.
This grand jury report finds that since 2015, San Diego's street maintenance needs have not been fully funded, and that the overall condition of roads has declined, which are findings the city does not dispute.
"You can bend a rim, you can can have a flat tire with some of these potholes," said Downtown resident David Vazquez. "It's atrocious!"
Workers in the region shared a similar sentiment.
"We can't afford to pay for car repairs because our streets are so awful," added Tricia Phares, who works in Kearny Mesa. "It is bad!"
This recent county grand jury report confirms as much, finding that road repairs in San Diego are plagued by a worsening shortfall in funding and poor planning.
"I think we would all agree in San Diego that our street condition is not up to the state of what we would like to see," said Council Member Kent Lee, who chairs the city's Active Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. The committee took up this grand jury report at its meeting on Wednesday.
One of the report's recommendations, which the city rejected, is to pass a law which would commit San Diego to a minimum amount of annual funding from the general fund for road repairs until the overall condition of city roads are good.
In its response to the grand jury report though, the city says that recommendation "will not be implemented because it is not warranted." They added that "tying specific amounts of future general fund dollars to one program limits the ability of the city's decision makers to fluctuating revenues and future funding needs."
Lee pointed out that in the most recent budget, Mayor Todd Gloria allocated more than $100 million in street repairs, which has helped fund repair work on long-neglected areas like Gold Coast Drive in Mira Mesa.
"I don't think that there is really just a minimum amount that is needed," Lee said. "I think that there is actually a larger amount, period, hat we have to invest."
The report also recommended that the city create a comprehensive "five year repair plan" that would include every city street.. which the city says it plans to do in the future.
"We've seen an improvement in the number of streets we've been able to get to, the potholes are filling," Lee added, "but there is always significantly more work to do."
For more information on how to report a pothole or other street repair issue, click here.
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