Street Services Audit: Why LA’s Streets are So Bad

DAMNING REPORT-I'm one of the many Angelenos who live on a street that's a mess. The concrete is cracked. Potholes pop up every few feet. The road is crumbling. 

Like 25% of Los Angeles' streets, mine gets a grade of F from the Bureau of Street Services, the division of the Department of Public Works responsible for maintaining the city's 6,500 miles of public roadways. 

This year, an engineering report concluded that it would cost nearly $4 billion to rehabilitate streets like mine. But before we rush to write a check, we must consider how money already allocated for street repair has been spent, which is precisely what auditors in my office have done. 

Based on their work, we've issued a report, "LA Streets: The Road to the Future," which explains their findings and offers recommendations on how to fix the bureau that fixes our streets. You can find your street's letter grade and the report at Control Panel LA.   

Under the city's Pavement Preservation Program, the Bureau of Street Services has been using much of its funding to apply a shiny black slurry seal to our B and C-rated streets. It looks good for a while and helps preserve the underlying pavement. But our D and F streets have been left to deteriorate. They now make up about 40% of the network. 

And while the stated goal is to maintain streets at a B average, the streets get an overall C- rating by the bureau's own assessment. (Read the rest here)  

-cw

 

 

CityWatch

Vol 12 Issue 62

Pub: Aug 1, 2014