Mayor Kevin Faulconer said Tuesday San Diego is repairing its streets at a record rate and now has a higher percentage in good condition than Los Angeles, San Francisco or San Jose.
Faulconer and other city officials released a study by Cartegraph Systems that rated the overall condition of San Diego’s streets as 72 out of 100, compared to a low of 59 in 2011 in the wake of the city’s budget crisis.
“Our streets on average have improved more than 20 percent since 2011. The numbers don’t lie,” Faulconer said, speaking to reporters at a recently paved intersection near Barnard Elementary School in Pacific Beach.
The city has a goal of fixing 1,000 miles of streets over five years, and Faulconer said rapid progress is being made.
“We’re coming to your neighborhood soon,” he vowed.
Councilwoman Lorie Zapf, whose district includes Pacific Beach, noted that streets aren’t just being repaved, but brought of up modern standards with ramps and markings.
“When we repair the road, we’re also improving the crosswalk,” she said.
The study, which used video and laser equipment and a standard rating system developed by the Army Corps of Engineers, categorized streets as “good,” “fair” or “poor.” Just six percent of San Diego’s streets are in the last category, suffering from severe cracking and broken pavement, compared to 25 percent in 2011.
The city has 2,668 miles of asphalt streets, 120 miles of concrete streets and 204 miles of paved alleys.
Since the assessment in 2011, 520 miles of surface streets have been repaved, 11 miles of concrete roads have been replaced and slurry seal has been applied to 856 miles, according to the city.
Councilman Mark Kersey, who chairs the City Council’s infrastructure committee, said the report is encouraging but shows there is still much work ahead.
“We’re not done, but this is significant progress,” he said.
