City manager discusses Measure F road improvements
News from the City
Atascadero City Manager Rachelle Rickard.
By City Manager Rachelle Rickard
–In November of 2014, Atascadero voters approved a half-cent sales tax measure to provide the city with additional funding. This measure, known as Measure F, proposed funds that would be designated for maintenance of our local residential roadways with an emphasis on roads where people live, rather than on thoroughfares such as El Camino Real.
Our public works department implemented the pavement management program to assist in managing the numerous miles of Atascadero roadways that need to be maintained. The program provides us with an analysis of each road’s pavement life cycle, as well as providing recommendations for maintenance actions to be taken and when. This information is then used to evaluate and assess all of our roadways, prioritizing road repair projects to maximize the use of available funds by choosing projects that will provide the lowest long-term road maintenance costs.
Based on the Pavement Management Program, the city has developed a five year capital improvement program that identifies the roadway segments and maintenance projects to be funded by Measure F. Funding is expected to total just over $10 million for the first five years of the measure and will be put towards nearly 20 miles of local road maintenance.
The City first began receiving funding from Measure F in June. We were extremely pleased to very quickly thereafter hold our first ground-breaking ceremony for two road projects which were highest on our priority list; Alamo Avenue was paved between Barrenda and Rosario, and Honda Avenue was resurfaced between Barrenda and Traffic Way. These two projects moved along very quickly and both were successfully completed in early August, marking just the beginning of our new Measure F road maintenance programs!
The official Road Improvement kick-off in June of Alamo Ave. & Honda Ave. Council members (L-R) Mayor O’Malley, Council Member Kelley, Council Member Fonzi, Public Works Lead Worker Jim Campana, Mayor Pro Tem Moreno and Public Works Director Nick DeBar.
The roads next on the priority list that have been identified as needing the most urgent attention include Arena, Cascabel, Castano, Los Gatos, San Andres, San Clemente, San Vincente, Valle and Yerba. For more information about which roads have been identified for repairs in the first five years and the details of the program, please see this link on the city’s website: http://www.atascadero.org/measure-f14
As always, if you have any comments or questions regarding this or any other city-related topic, please contact me at (805) 470-3400, or visit www.atascadero.org.
