Mar 12, 2008 8:21 pm US/Pacific
Study Finds Bay Area Roads Among Nation's Worst
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS 5 / BCN) ―
Several Bay Area cities are ranked among the top five major urban areas in the country for poor road conditions, according to a study released Wednesday by a national transportation research group.
TRIP's report, "Keep Both Hands on the Wheel: Metro Areas with the Roughest Rides and Strategies to Make Our Roads Smoother," placed the San Francisco-Oakland area and the San Jose area among the top five.
Poor roads create additional vehicle operating costs and, in the state's largest urban areas, cost motorists an average of $650 a year, and approximately $750 a year in the Bay Area, according to the report.
In the San Francisco-Oakland area approximately 62 percent of major roads and highways have pavement in poor condition and in the San Jose area about 60 percent of the roads are in poor condition, the report found.
The report found an increasing amount of traffic in urban areas is
having a major impact on roads. Vehicle travel in the state increased 27
percent between 1990 and 2005 and is expected to increase another 25 percent by 2020.
"With state and federal transportation funding falling short, the cost of materials and repairs rising and traffic volumes increasing, transportation agencies will face a significant challenge in improving urban pavement conditions," TRIP's Executive Director William Wilkins said in a prepared statement. "The nation needs to develop a new long-term vision for its highway system that would include improving conditions and reducing traffic congestion."
A big change in this year's report is that San Jose dropped out of the top position as its percentage of poorly rated roads fell from 66 to 60 percent, according to Transportation California, a state education and advocacy group.
"The good news is California is making progress in improving freeways and urban roads, thanks to a serious commitment at all levels of government to address the problem," said Mark Watts, executive director of Transportation California, in a prepared statement. "The bad news is now that we've made a down payment on our infrastructure future, our funding again is threatened. The state budget crisis, a possible reduction in federal funding plus escalating construction costs will put a crimp in the buying power of California's imperiled transportation dollars."
According to the report, maintaining roadways in their current condition would require an additional 56 percent in annual funding and a 126 percent spending bump would be required to make significant improvements.
Here are the top five cities:
1. Los Angeles
2. San Francisco
3. Honolulu
4. San Jose
5. San Diego
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