Wednesday Apr 30

E. Palo Alto City Council approves resurfacing plans

$1M earmarked for fixing 18 streets

By Banks Albach / Daily News Staff Writer

Many of the bumpiest roads in East Palo Alto should get a smooth makeover this year with the city council's approval Tuesday night of a pavement resurfacing plan.

City staff has stretched out slightly more than $1 million to repair 18 streets this year, using a 50-50 split of state and local funds from Proposition 1B and San Mateo County's Measure A funds. Staff has also secured the same funding to repair an additional 17 streets next year. That plan must pass the council in 2009.

Overall, 47.5 percent of East Palo Alto's 38 miles of roads are in good condition, ranked between 70 and 100; almost 30 percent are in very poor shape, ranked somewhere below the 25 mark; and the rest are either in fair or poor condition. The average is 54 and the rankings are based on a pavement quality index.

Many of the roads were designed and built by San Mateo County before East Palo Alto incorporated in 1983 and when the area was less populated. Since then, the city has conducted patchwork repairs, but dozens of deteriorating streets lack adequate drainage and sidewalks.

At the top of the city's two-year list - which several residents complained about Tuesday - are Ralmar, Poplar and Dumbarton Avenues and Bell Street. Some are lined with potholes, flood excessively in the rainy season, or were only paved in the middle, leaving gravel or dirt gaps in front of property lines.

"They're not actually streets," Council Member David Woods said, referring to a few roads in particular. "They're trails."

With the 4-1 vote, the council allocated the money and gave City Manager Alvin James the ability to launch a request for proposal process as soon as possible. Project Engineer Kamal Fallaha also told the council that the state recently approved $806,000 in Safe Routes to School funding, which could be used to build sidewalks.

But as staff repeatedly pointed out, amid concerns from residents and Council Member Peter Evans, it's a balancing act. Evans, who cast the dissenting vote, questioned why the focus of the repairs was not on the worst of the worst roads in East Palo Alto.

James and Fallaha responded that the city will save money in the next several years by preventing the city's good streets from deteriorating further, rather than using all of the money at overhauling the city's worst road, which ranks under 10 on the index. So the plan includes both repairs and preventive maintenance, Fallaha said.

Some preventive measures can extend a road's life by up to 12 years, while the most decrepit roads will require a complete asphalt overlays, which cost about $8.50 per square yard. To bring East Palo Alto's entire road system up to an 85 ranking, for example, would cost about $44 million.



E-mail Banks Albach at balbach@dailynewsgroup.com.