On the streets of Pacific Beach, potholes are plentiful, and on Thursday, San Diego’s mayor began tackling the problem by rolling up his sleeves and working alongside repair crews.
Outfitted in a bright yellow vest, Mayor Kevin Faulconer joined an asphalt repair crew and helped fill potholes in the beach community, including those at the intersection of La Playa Avenue and Yosemite Street.
The repair work is part of the mayor’s efforts to fix 1,000 miles of local streets riddled with potholes over the next five years. According to Faulconer’s pothole plan, drivers will benefit from at least 300 miles of resurfaced streets this fiscal year.
A recent study found San Diego has some of the roughest roads in America, so Faulconer has made repairs a top priority. Since taking office, Faulconer has doubled the amount of street repairs across the city and worked to streamline the system so repair crews can visit neighborhoods more frequently to find problems.
Faulconer’s One San Diego budget has increased funding to street repairs. Currently, the City's asphalt repair crews fill roughly 27,000 potholes each year.
The roadside repairs schedule is posted on this website, so residents can know which days a crew will be working in their neighborhoods.
As Faulconer got to work in PB, city workers said the mayor did a pretty good job filling his first pothole.
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“You have to get our roads up to a condition where they don’t deteriorate as fast,” Faulconer told NBC 7. “Pothole repairs are important and you need to do it – and we’re going to continue to do it.”
Though the repairs are a good start, some drivers in Pacific Beach, including Scott Bohnen, expressed frustration at how many roads in the area still need repair.
“Our streets are falling apart,” he said.
Some residents worry about the problems the forecasted El Nino season may cause to the already-damaged roadways.
City repair worker Mario Escalera told NBC 7 he’s frustrated by how many potholes riddle local streets, but hopes the mayor can achieve his goal of resurfacing 1,000 miles over the next few years.
“I hope he really accomplishes this,” said Escalera.
