City's roads get ‘at risk' rating

<p>Petaluma's roads were ranked the lowest of any city in Sonoma County in a recently released survey, but Petaluma's public works manager isn't surprised, given the city's funding constraints.</p><p>“No, not at all. There hasn't been adequate funding for the drastic repairs that are needed,” said Larry Zimmer. “It's a success in itself that the roads maintained the same level as last year.”</p><p>Petaluma roads received a score of 55 out of 100 in the recently released Metropolitan Transportation Commission pavement condition index, making it the only city with an “at-risk” ranking in Sonoma County. The county's non-incorporated roads had a score of 45, which falls into the “poor” category.</p><p>Petaluma's roads had the same score last year.</p><p>“The City Council has been told that we need around $6 million to $7 million for road maintenance just to keep pavement in good condition. We've had about half that much money the past two years,” said Mike Healy. “Considering we've had just half the recommended funding, the only surprise was that our roads weren't downgraded.”</p><p>A recent report by the Sonoma County Grand Jury states that reductions in the city's maintenance staff have caused delays in maintenance repairs and street light replacement and that inadequate communications between the Department of Water Resources and Public Works Department “have not provided timely information necessary to ensure adequate road repairs by either department.” </p><p>The report concludes that “unclear management structure and reduced staffing are the root causes of the Petaluma pothole problem.”</p><p>Mayor David Glass has said that Petaluma's low ratings can be partly attributed to it being a city with old roads, and many miles of them. Petaluma has 280 miles of roads, surpassed only by Santa Rosa, which has 1,090 miles of roads and had a score of 65, and a “fair” ranking.</p><p>Petaluma's approach to road repairs generally has been to address road problems that require less extensive work, rather than major issues.</p><p>“If we used all of our money on roads that are in terrible shape, we wouldn't have any money left to take care of all the other roads. It's cheaper to maintain roads that are in decent shape, Zimmer said. </p><p>(Contact Dan Johnson at dan.johnson@arguscourier.com)</p>