HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Resolution 11464 (Streets & Roads Maintenance Regional Funding)RESOLUTION NO. 11464
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN
RAFAEL SUPPORTING ENHANCED REGIONAL FUNDING FOR
MAINTENANCE OF LOCAL STREETS AND ROADS
BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the City of San Rafael as follows:
WHEREAS, the Nine -County Bay Area economy relies heavily on the
availability of a well-maintained regional transportation system; and
WHEREAS, well-maintained local streets and roads are important to the
region's economic health and to the quality of life for the residents; and
WHEREAS, well-maintained arterial and collector streets are vital to all
modes of transportation including the private automobile, good movements, emergency
vehicles, transit, bicycles and pedestrians within the region; and
WHEREAS, funding for regional transportation system maintenance and
rehabilitation is limited; and
WHEREAS, preserving and protecting the public's investment in the
existing local streets and roads must remain a priority for transportation investment; and
WHEREAS, regular and timely street maintenance reduces long-term
rehabilitation costs and minimizes the need to reconstruct streets; and
WHEREAS, when local streets and roads are not well-maintained, the cost
of repair can increase dramatically; and
WHEREAS, the value of the existing local streets and roads exceeds local
governments' capacity to replace them within any reasonable time frame;
0RIGINAL
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the City of
San Rafael that:
1. The City Council of the City of San Rafael supports the allocation of an
enhanced level of regional transportation funds to maintain and
rehabilitate local streets and roads including streets not currently on the
Metropolitan Transportation System (MTS).
2. Maintaining local streets and roads should be a high priority for the
allocation of regional maintenance funds.
3. Regional funding priorities for local streets and roads should be based
on the local jurisdictions' determination of maintenance and
rehabilitation needs supported by a systematic pavement condition
evaluation program.
4. The City Council of the City of San Rafael supports a balanced and
equitable approach to funding local streets and roads maintenance
needs.
I, JEANNE M. LEONCINI, Clerk of the City of San Rafael, hereby certify that
the foregoing resolution was duly and regularly introduced and adopted at a regular meeting of
the Council of said City on the 15th day of December, 2003, by the following vote, to wit:
AYES: COUNCILMEMBERS: Cohen, Heller, Miller, Phillips and Mayor Boro
NOES: COUNCILMEMBERS: None
ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS: None
JEAI\ft M. LEONCINI, City Clerk
File No.: 16.13.10
Bay Area Local Streets and Roads Funding Needs Fact Sheet
1. Local Streets and Roads Maintenance Needs:
• People almost exclusively rely on motor vehicles for mobility. Travel in private vehicles
accounts for 91 percent of all person miles of travel*.
• The average road expends 75% of its serviceable life by the time it reaches a Pavement
Condition Index (PCI) of 60. The MTC region's average PCI score is currently 65 (See
attached list of PCI's by City and County).
• Bay Area is the second most congested transportation system in the nation—second only
to Los Angeles*.
• It costs less to keep roads in good condition through preventative maintenance than to
allow the roadways to decline in condition—You will spend five times more to repair a
road in poor condition than you will have spent maintaining the same roadway in good
condition.
• Bay Area drivers pay approximately $300 per year in extra vehicle operating costs due to
poorly maintained roadways*.
• Roadway conditions are a factor in an estimated 30% of traffic fatalities*.
• Local roads are the single biggest public investment --in the area of $19 billion dollars. A
standard used internationally is that governments should invest at least 2.5% ($475
million) of the total asset value in maintenance each year, in order to preserve it.
2. Local Streets and Roads Revenues:
• The single dedicated source of revenue that Cities and Counties have for Road
Maintenance purposes is gas tax. Since 1957, the gas tax rate has lost ground to inflation
by 14.5 cents per gallon. Compounding the problem is that cars drive twice as far per
gallon as they used to, resulting in greater wear and tear with even less revenue when
measured on the basis of per mile of driving. **
• Because of legislative constraints Cities and Counties have limited ability to raise
General Fund revenue to supplement gas tax. The available General Fund dollars must
be spread over various needs, including police, fire, libraries, parks, etc. The bottom line
is that in all these areas, including streets and roads, the General Fund revenue is being
far outstripped by the needs.
• At the Federal and State funding level Local Streets and Roads need to compete with
other transportation modes for scarce dollars. In order to receive a fair share of the
funding, Local Streets and Roads needs must be strongly advocated at regional forums,
like MTC. Lacking this advocacy, the current MTC allocation of less than 10% of
available maintenance and rehabilitation to local streets will be the result.
3. Shortfalls/ Rezional Responsibility:
• The attached summary, by County, shows the projected shortfall when comparing Local
Streets and Roads needs with projected revenues over a 25 year period.
• "Future" shortfalls could increase by tip to $3 billion, if the "current" shortfall is not met.
The increase is the cost of deferring maintenance, or the consequence of inadequate
funding of pavement needs.
• The $3 billion dollars in additional cost due to deferred maintenance demonstrates that
the current estimated level of available revenues, over the next 25 years is insufficient to
keep up with required maintenance. This fact shows the importance for ensuring that
local jurisdictions receive anticipated Proposition 42 funds, as well as finding alternative
revenue sources.
• "Regional responsibility" should move from MTS as currently defined, to either the full
arterial and collector system, or the total 19k mile system, since any trip has to traverse
all three of these functional classes before it gets onto freeways, trains, or buses.
Likewise the focus should also shift from only looking at pavements as the regional
responsibility to pavements, non -pavements, and local bridges, since they're all a
necessary part of the local street and road system.
* Source: The Road Information Program. Nivw.trip. net
**Source: ACCESS— Transportation Research at the University of California Spring 2003