November 9th 2024.
As you drive or bike across the Bay Area, you can't help but notice the stark contrast in road conditions. One moment, you're cruising on smooth pavement, and the next, you're dodging cracks and potholes. This is due to the varying levels of maintenance in different cities.
According to a recent report by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, the regional agency responsible for the nine counties, the state of Bay Area roads differs greatly depending on the jurisdiction. Overall, it's safe to say that it's not in the best condition.
To keep track of road quality, the commission uses a grading system, with a goal of maintaining an average score of 85 out of 100 over a period of three years. This means that the roads should only be in moderate distress, requiring mostly preventative maintenance. However, only a handful of cities are meeting this goal, typically smaller and wealthier cities with fewer miles of road to maintain. The top-scoring cities are Palo Alto, Orinda, and Larkspur, with scores of 83, and Cupertino, with a score of 82.
On the other hand, the cities and counties with the lowest-rated roads, receiving a "poor" rating, include Vallejo, Pacifica, Petaluma, and unincorporated Napa County. It's worth noting that counties are responsible for maintaining roads in unincorporated areas.
Overall, the majority of roads in the Bay Area are hovering around a mediocre rating. For the ninth consecutive year, the region's 44,000 miles of local streets have been rated as "fair," with a score of 67. This means that many roads are approaching a critical point where they will require significant repairs to prevent further deterioration. This not only affects drivers, but it also poses a danger for cyclists. In fact, according to a survey by AAA, potholes cost US drivers an estimated $26.5 billion in 2021, mostly due to tire and alignment damage.
Chair Alfredo Pedroza, a Napa County supervisor, expressed frustration with the commission's goal of having all the region's roads in a state of good repair. He stated in a news release that this goal is proving to be quite challenging to achieve. The main obstacle is a lack of funding. As the cost of materials and labor continues to rise, road maintenance has become more expensive.
In an effort to improve road conditions, several local street-improvement bond measures were on the ballot this week and have passed in a few Bay Area cities. For example, Berkeley's $267 million measure and San Francisco's $390 million infrastructure bond, of which $63.9 million will go towards street repairs.
John Goodwin, the spokesperson for the transportation commission, explained that it's difficult to make significant improvements due to the sheer size of the road network. That's why we often see drastic changes in smaller municipalities.
Although the larger cities in the Bay Area usually fall in the middle of the pack, some have made improvements from the previous year. San Jose, which has the largest street network in the region with nearly 4,500 miles, improved its rating to "good" with a score of 71, up from 69 in the previous period. Meanwhile, San Francisco maintained its above-average performance with a steady score of 74.
Despite the score, San Francisco resident Steve Thompson stated that he's constantly navigating through potholes and roadwork while driving in the city. He shared his experience while filling up his silver Subaru at a gas station along 19th Avenue, which is set for a major repaving project next summer. He described how street repairs can sometimes make it a hassle to get across town, saying, "You choose your lanes because you know this one has plates on the street. You just have to have that awareness."
In Oakland, the score increased by three points to 57, but the city's single-year score decreased by one point to 56 from 57 in 2022. This is despite the city's efforts to lead a "pothole blitz" in the spring of 2023 after winter storms caused damage to the roads. However, East Oakland resident Shamesha Clark hasn't noticed any difference. She stated, "The roads are worse than ever. The city didn't fix anything - what did they fix? People are still getting their wheel bearings broken."
Interestingly, Larkspur has the highest single-year score in the Bay Area at 89, with a three-year average of 83. This is a significant improvement from its "poor" ratings just a few years ago, which can be attributed to the passage of two local sales tax measures dedicated to street rehabilitation.
While maintaining road quality may seem costly, it can actually save cities money in the long run by reducing the need for major repairs, which can cost up to 10 times more than routine maintenance, according to the commission.
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