Road Repaving & Street Safety Bond for November 2011 Ballot
On May 24, 2011, Mayor Edwin M. Lee introduced a proposed $248 million Road Repair & Street Safety bond measure for the November 2011 ballot, which was co-sponsored by Supervisors Scott Weiner and David Chiu with Supervisors John Avalos, David Campos, Eric Mar, and Ross Mirkarimi also signing on.
This bond measure will repave streets and eliminate potholes in neighborhoods throughout San Francisco and seismically strengthen and repair deteriorating bridges, overpasses and staircases, all without raising property tax rates and subject to independent oversight and regular audits.
Recommended as part of the citywide Ten-Year Capital Plan to improve and invest in the City’s infrastructure, the Road Repaving & Street Safety Bond will also improve streetscapes for pedestrian and bicyclist safety, improve traffic flow on local streets and install sidewalk and curb ramps to meet the City’s obligations under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The proposed $248 million Road Repair & Street Safety Bond will:
1. Repave our Streets and Eliminate Potholes
More than half of San Francisco’s 850 miles of streets are deteriorating, with pothole-filled streets and sidewalks buckling throughout the City. This bond will allow the City to undertake long-overdue and urgently needed repaving now to create a safer driving, walking and biking experience for everyone. Delaying these repairs even longer will only makes them more expensive in the future, costing up to five times more than fixing now.
2. Seismically Repair and Repair Deteriorating Bridges, Overpasses & Staircases
This bond will also repair and seismically strengthen and repair deteriorating City-owned bridges, overpasses and staircases throughout San Francisco.
3. Create Safer Streets for Pedestrians, Bicyclists and People with Disabilities
The bond will help redesign our streetscapes to improve pedestrian and bicycle safety and install sidewalk and curb ramps to comply with the City’s obligations under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to help people who use wheelchairs, walkers, canes, scooters and parents with strollers. It will also upgrade traffic, pedestrian, and transit signals and provide other safety features that improve traffic flow and decrease congestion.
4. Hold the Line on Property Tax Rates & Create Jobs
The bond measure has been specifically designed to ensure that property tax rates for San Francisco homeowners will not increase as a result of this bond. By complying with the City policy of only issuing new bonds as old ones are repaid, this measure’s full costs can be funded at current tax rates with no increase. The bond will also create more than 1,000 construction and other jobs in related industries to boost San Francisco’s economic recovery and put residents back to work.
| BOND COMPONENT | $ MILLION | SCOPE |
| Street Repaving and Reconstruction | 148.4 | Slurry sealing, repaving, re-construction and new construction of approximately 2,540 street segments |
| Sidewalk Accessibility Improvements ( Transition Plan for Curb Ramps and Sidewalks) | 22.0 | Design and construct approximately 1,900 curb ramps citywide and improve 125,000 square feet of City responsibility sidewalks |
| Street Structure Repair and Strengthening | 7.3 | Perform needed rehabilitation and repair and improve aging street infrastructure such as bridges, guardrails, tunnels, viaducts, retaining walls and stairs. |
| Streetscape, Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Improvements | 50.0 | Implement citywide pedestrian/bicycle safety and streetscape improvements such as pedestrian countdown signals and lighting, sidewalk extension, bulb-outs, bicycle improvements, treeplanting and landscaping. |
| Transit Street Signal Infrastructure Improvements | 20.3 | Rehabilitate and upgrade existing traffic infrastructure to reduce travel time along key MUNI routes and increase transit efficiency. |
| TOTAL | 248.0 |
|
To read more details about the Bond Measure, go to 2011 Road Repaving & Street Safety Bond
The bond measure must next be discussed at a hearing of the Board of Supervisors Budget & Finance Committee before it is considered by the full Board for the November 2011 ballot.