San Diego Proposes Reforms to Speed Up Street Repair

LOS ANGELES - San Diego city leaders unveiled a plan Thursday to reform the city's street repair program to speed up efforts to fix 1,000 miles of streets over the next five years.

San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer is working with City Council President Sherri Lightner and Councilmember Mark Kersey on efforts that would double street repair in the upcoming fiscal year to 300 miles.

Faulconer said it's the first step toward fulfilling his goal of repairing 1,000 miles of streets, more than one-third of the city's entire street network, by 2020.

"I'm making street repair - the No. 1 complaint of San Diegans — the city's top infrastructure priority," Faulconer said.

The 20 reforms proposed to the city's infrastructure program will focus on technology to increase program efficiency, reduce bureaucracy and provide better financial oversight and cash management. It will also bundle projects into larger contracts to negotiate better prices with contractors.

"These reforms are all about effectively managing the way the city spends its money," Faulconer said. "Right now we have tens of millions of dollars languishing in accounts for projects that are years away from getting built. Our neighborhoods need help now."

Kersey, chair of the council's infrastructure committee, called the proposed changes "critical as the city spends the next decade rebuilding our neighborhoods."