I HOPE THAT THE CITY OF BENICIA HEARS THIS ONE LOUD AND CLEAR! - IT SAYS IT ALL

I receive a lot of comments but this one really says it all.  

If the City of Benicia truly wants to be "ONE OF THE 10 BEST PLACES TO LIVE", they need to pay attention to this one:

"Every time ... and I return home in the evening, we are pretty shocked, slowing to about 10 mph on P [sic] Street to keep our car suspension from being further damaged (both our cars now make strange sounds in the rear suspension). We think -- What sort of town do we have here? Don't we have any pride? What must visitors think of us? (We had better take them the other way to 2nd Street and turn at McDonald's!) For some reason, our city can't take care of even our most basic needs."

 

DID EAST O AND EAST N "SLIP THROUGH THE CRACKS?" - BENICIA PUBLIC WORKS RESPONDS

Graham,

Thank you for the background info on how are streets are supposed to be maintained and repaired.  It all makes good sense to me. 

Did East O and East N just "slip through the cracks"?  They were bad 8 years ago, we reported them several times, and they didn't received any attention. 

I hope that major repairs will be scheduled for the future, next summer as you state.  In the meantime, don't you think some immediate pothole repairs are justified?  Its pretty bad when motorists have to slow to a walking pace or even stop to avoid the holes.

Its unfortunate that our neighborhood's streets have been allowed to deteriorate to such a bad condition and will now need more extensive and unnecessarily expensive attention.  Nevertheless, on behalf of our neighborhood, thank you for looking into the needed repairs. 

Ross

On 10/4/2016 1:49 PM, Graham Wadsworth wrote:

Mr. Sagun,

Benicia does not have the worst streets in Solano County. In the 2015 Pavement Management Plan, the average PCI in Benicia is 58, the average PCI in Suisun City is 55, and the average PCI in Vallejo is 49. Ten years ago, the PCI in Benicia was 70, so there has been a downward trend with a reduction in gas tax revenue.

The first criteria used to determine if a street will be repaved usually starts with the PCI. A street with a PCI less than 25 then the street should be reconstructed, which is 10 to 30 times more expensive than doing preventive maintenance, such as slurry seals and microsurfacing. It is less expensive to keep a street in good condition, than let it deteriorate to the point that it must be reconstructed. This is why you see streets in better condition being repaved. Another reason is that the City receives state funding to pave arterial and collector streets, but not for residential streets. Other criteria include the volume of traffic on the street, the best treatment for the street, and grouping streets with the same treatment in a geographical area for one contractor to resurface, which reduces costs.

In terms of emergency repairs, those are made when there are potholes that need to be filled, which are usually filled in the fall and spring. Potholes are a symptom of a street network that has too much deferred maintenance. I am attaching a file with a list of streets with a PCI less than 20 in case you want to make comparisons. Please note that the street segments are a few blocks long and not uniformly deteriorated, so there may be parts of the segment that are in worse condition than other parts.

I had a meeting today to discuss the available funding for the next street resurfacing project. As I stated in my 9/19 email, City staff will be preparing the paving program this month for construction during the summer of 2017 and East O will be evaluated and considered for inclusion.

Graham

CITY COUNCIL CANDIDATE LIONEL LARGAESPADA WEIGHS IN

Mr. Largaespada,

Thank you for sending your story to us.  We can certainly relate to it.  Those of us that live in the neighborhood bounded by East 2nd - St. Augustine - East 5th - East Military feel like we have been forgotten by our City's leadership.  For eight years we have reported our deteriorating streets with little to show for it, while other neighborhood's get repeated attention.  Why has our neighborhood gone largely unaddressed?  East O near the car wash is the most egregious example and located at a major gateway to Benicia, near hotels and businesses. 


I am embarrassed to drive visitors down these streets.  What must they be thinking?  Doesn't Benicia have any money for street repairs?  Do they even care?  How does this reflect on our City's values and its pride, and what is the effect on our property values? 


It's a mess and I hope that we, and especially our City leaders, can address forthwith.  Thanks again for weighing in and for your support.

..Ross
www.safebenicia.blogspot.com

On 10/4/2016 10:31 AM, Lionel Largaespada, Candidate for Benicia City Council wrote:

Lionel Largaespada, Candidate for Benicia City Council has left a new comment on your post "IT'S DEAD JOE. CAN'T WE GET THIS FIXED?":

While I don’t have a picture, I wanted to share my story with you Ross. This summer, my youngest daughter attended art camp at Robert Semple Elementary. After dropping her off one morning, I decided to drive around the neighborhood because in a few months I would be walking these streets as a candidate for Benicia City Council. To my dismay, I discovered the street conditions were beyond terrible – you would have thought I was driving on a dirt road in the Central Valley (that is NOT meant as an insult to the good people from the 559 area code). Benicia has the second worst roads in all of Solano County—and I agree with you; that’s is unacceptable. While money has been allocated for road repair— I also agree with you that we (i.e. the residents) have been asked to wait too long. That’s why if I am elected to the Benicia City Council, we will make road repair a top priority and we’ll keep repairs at the top of the Measure C project list until it is complete.

Sincerely,
Lionel     

NEWS FLASH!! -- POSSIBLE BREAK IN THE PAVING LOG JAM

Friends and Neighbors,

I just received this potentially good news from Mr. Graham Wadsworth, the Benicia Director of Public Works.  Let's keep our fingers crossed.  Thanks in advance to Mr. Wadsworth and all of you in the background that are helping to make progress and address our neighborhood's concerns.

..Ross

Mr. Wadsworth,
That is excellent news and would be a huge step forward towards addressing our neighborhood's concerns.  We will stand by for the results of their evaluation.  Please keep us advised.
Many thanks.
..Ross
www.safebenicia.blogspot.com

On 10/4/2016 9:57 AM, Graham Wadsworth wrote:
Mr. Sagun, I spoke with the Public Works Street Maintenance Supervisor and the crew began patch paving and filling potholes this month. The crew did what is called a “skin patch” or thin overlay on East O Street near East 5^th Street last year. They will evaluate doing another in the location of the picture that you sent below. If it an appropriate pavement treatment, then they should be able to do the work this month.
 Graham Wadsworth, P. E.
Public Works Director / City EngineerCity of Benicia Public Works Department250 East "L" Street
Benicia, CA 94510707-746-4240gwadsworth@ci.benicia.ca.uswww.ci.benicia.ca.us

IT'S DEAD JOE. CAN'T WE GET THIS FIXED?

Hi Friends and Neighbors,

I can't make the City Council meeting tomorrow night.  If you are going, can you bring this to the Council's attention?  Please remind them that we have been reporting this for 8 years now.  I bet that if this were happening in front of City Hall it would be fixed by now.

Thanks,

Ross