Oakland, Larkspur Show Biggest Year-to-Year Improvement
SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 31, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Overall pavement situations on the Bay Area’s practically 44,000 lane-miles of native streets and roads landed as soon as once more in honest territory final 12 months, with the everyday stretch of roadway exhibiting severe put on and more likely to require rehabilitation quickly. Data launched right now by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) put the area’s 2021 pavement situation index (PCI) rating at 67 out of a most attainable 100 factors, as computed on a three-year shifting common foundation. This marks the sixth consecutive 12 months Bay Area streets and roads have registered a median rating of 67 and underscores the persevering with challenges confronted by metropolis and county public works departments.
“The new pavement data is a bit of a mixed bag,” commented MTC Chair and Napa County Supervisor Alfredo Pedroza. “The good news is that our counties and cities have been able to prevent major deterioration, thanks in large part to the state gas tax money they receive through the SB 1 local streets and roads program. The bad news is we’re still a long way away from our goal of bringing the Bay Area’s streets and roads into a state of good repair, which would raise the regional average into the mid-80s.”
PCI scores of 90 or larger are thought of “excellent.” These are newly constructed or resurfaced streets that present little or no misery. Pavement with a PCI rating in the 80 to 89 vary is taken into account “very good” and exhibits solely slight or average misery, requiring primarily preventive upkeep. The “good” class ranges from 70 to 79, whereas streets with PCI scores in the “fair” (60-69) vary have gotten worn to the purpose the place rehabilitation could also be wanted to forestall speedy deterioration. Because main repairs price 5 to 10 instances greater than routine upkeep, these streets are at an particularly crucial stage. Roadways with PCI scores of fifty to 59 are deemed “at-risk,” whereas these with PCI scores of 25 to 49 are thought of “poor.” These roads require main rehabilitation or reconstruction. Pavement with a PCI rating under 25 is taken into account “failed.”
San Francisco, with a three-year shifting common rating of 74, is the one one of many Bay Area’s three largest cities to rank in the “good” class. San Jose, which has by far the biggest avenue community in the Bay Area at practically 4,500 lane-miles, ticked up a degree final 12 months with a three-year shifting common rating of 67. Oakland’s three-year shifting common additionally rose by one level to 53 (at-risk), however the metropolis’s single-year rating jumped 9 factors to 58 final 12 months from simply 49 (poor) in 2020.
“We’re proud to be picking up the pace for implementing our equity-driven paving plan,” stated Oakland mayor and MTC Commissioner Libby Schaaf. “We’re delivering swift improvements with an approach that is recognized as a national leader in directing resources where they are most needed to provide all communities with the smooth, safe streets they deserve. Our progress is possible because Oakland’s voters made a game-changing investment by passing the Measure KK infrastructure bond in 2016. Oakland’s streets were badly underfunded for decades and there is much more work ahead of us. But we’re confident we’ll have the appropriate resources to continue making major progress together.”
The Marin County metropolis of Larkspur, which twice in latest years handed native gross sales tax measures devoted to rehabilitating the town’s 65 lane-miles of streets, is the one Bay Area to outpace Oakland’s year-over-year enchancment, recording an 11-point enhance to 76 final 12 months from 65 in 2021. As lately as 2017, Larkspur registered one-year PCI scores in the “poor” vary.
Cupertino as soon as once more tops the record of Bay Area pavement rankings for the 2019-21 interval, with a three-year shifting common PCI rating of 84. Other cities with three-year PCI scores in the “very good” vary embrace Orinda and Palo Alto (83); Dublin (82); Brentwood (81); and unincorporated Solano County (80).
The lowest-ranked pavement in the Bay Area was discovered in Pacifica, which recorded a PCI rating of 42 for 2019-21. The solely different jurisdictions with three-year common PCI scores in the “poor” vary are Petaluma (44), Sebastopol and unincorporated Napa County (46), and Vallejo (48). The three-year shifting common PCI rating for the practically 2,700 lane-miles of rural roads in unincorporated Sonoma County final 12 months moved one level larger into the “at-risk” vary (51) after a few years in the “poor” bracket.
The full 2021 Pavement Conditions Summary — together with percentages of native roadways in numerous situations, and an inventory of common PCI scores for the arterials, collector roadways and residential streets for all Bay Area counties and cities — could also be accessed at https://mtc.ca.gov/digital-library/5023520-pavement-condition-bay-area-jurisdictions-2021.
MTC is the regional transportation planning, financing and coordinating company for the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area.
SOURCE Metropolitan Transportation Commission
