Roads in the Bay Area were the worst in the nation and accounted for high costs to drivers in 2016, according to a report released by a national nonprofit Wednesday.
Staffers at The Road Information Program (TRIP), a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit focused on transportation issues, used highway data to rank more than 100 urban areas that they say have the worst roads.
The region defined as the San Francisco-Oakland urban area, meaning those two cities and others in the surrounding area, came out on top of that list. The report says 71 percent of major roads in that area are in poor repair, according to pavement data from the Federal Highway Administration.
Because of that, drivers in the area lost on average more than $1,000 annually when their vehicles depreciated, needed maintenance and used more fuel.
San Jose, another Bay Area city, ranked second in the nation in the TRIP report with 64 percent of roads in bad shape. The average San Jose driver lost $983 annually, according to the report.
Bay Area cities also topped a similar list of mid-sized urban areas. The area of Antioch was first with 57 percent of roads in poor condition, according to TRIP. A close second was Concord at 56 percent.
Metropolitan Transportation Commission spokesman John Goodwin said the MTC is responsible for some of the roads surveyed in the report. The others are managed by Caltrans.
Goodwin said that in general, California roads need work.
“All around the Bay Area, really all around California, we have streets, roads and highways that are suffering from years of neglect,” he said.
A year-old gas tax has been helping pump more money into road maintenance, but there’s still a ways to go, Goodwin said. The tax itself is also in danger of repeal via Proposition 6 on the state’s Nov. 6 ballot.
TRIP used data from 2016 because it was the most recently available, according to the report.
The nonprofit is sponsored by insurance agencies, equipment makers and labor unions, among others, according to its website. The full report can be found on their site at tripnet.org/docs/Urban_Roads_TRIP_Report_October_2018.pdf.
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(5) comments
I see lots of road work going on. If Proposition 6 passes things will get much worse.
VOTE NO ON 6.
These reports come out like clockwork before the elections. Some cities like San Carlos have excellent roads and fix potholes whenever they are reported. Others like Pacifica have functional roads and put no money into it. The MTC Pavement Condition Index which is a pavement industry tool for getting more work, says only two cities out of 20 on the peninsula, 10%, are bad. Go figure
I am seeing more and more SB1 signs popping up everywhere latest Hilsdale/101 on ramp. These signs are a terrible waste of tax payer dollars. Fix pot holes instead.
The "facts" on the TRIP website seem questionable. TRIP is an advocacy group funded by businesses with a financial interest in spending more money on roads, so their claims may be suspect:
http://tripnet.org/about.php
One of their charts says that drivers in the SF/Oakland metro area spend an extra $1,049 per year in extra vehicle costs due to bad roads:
http://tripnet.org/docs/Urban_Roads_TRIP_Report_Appendices_October_2018.pdf
In support of this claim, the chart says that 71% of the roads in this metro area are in poor condition, 16% mediocre, 6% fair, and 6% good. That is in sharp contrast to the latest Pavement Report for Belmont, which says 44.5% of our roads are good or better, 24% fair, 17% poor, and 14% failed. Considering that Belmont's roads are supposed to be some of the worst in San Mateo County, that either means that roads in SM county are much better than the metro area overall, or that data in the TRIP chart are inaccurate and misleading.
Personally, I don't spend much more per year due to bad roads, and certainly not as much as $1,000. To me, the only costs that might increase due to bad roads are those for shocks and tires, and I don't believe I replace them any more often than I ever have. I don't really understand how gas mileage would be affected by bad roads, and certainly not to any significant extent. Mileage would probably be affected more by slowdowns due to traffic congestion.
I would like to know how TRIP calculated the figure of $1,049, to see if it has a solid basis, or is just a number pulled out of the air. I wouldn't put much faith in TRIP data without good answers to a number of questions.
Hikertom, its a YES on Prop 6, to repeal the State legislature's passing of the gas tax and car registration fees. So City passed a measure W locally to fix the same potholes , and if the county's Measure W passes, our local sales tax with zoom up to 9.75% ! The cost of living already high will be out of sight and bring more homelessness. Solution? Don't build.
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