San Jose Working To Reverse Bad Road Rating
SAN JOSE (KCBS) - Following a report by a national transportation research group that found San Jose has the worst roads in the U.S., the city council held a study session Tuesday on how to come up with funds for badly-needed street repairs.
The city has a $250 million backlog of deferred maintenance. Councilman Pierluigi Oliverio says a number of funding options are being considered.
"One of the options that we're going to hear is a $300 to $400 parcel tax for each home, to be proposed possibly in the 2012 timeframe," said Oliverio.
Oliverio says he is opposed to that option however, as is San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed.
"I think we need to manage our finances in such a way that we can afford to maintain the streets," said Reed. "We could have put some money into it last year, but unfortunately we had a huge increase in pension costs that ate up most of the available funds."
Most of San Jose's streets are over 30 years old.
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