By Megan Burks
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A City Council decision last week was the final push San Diego needed to set out on the path toward a shiny, new convention center. If the current mayor and downtown developers get their way, the city just might pick up a slick, new stadium and downtown entertainment district along the way.
While City Heights can also expect some glossy developments in the coming years, its priorities are elsewhere.
In a decades-long plan organized by the city and the City Heights Redevelopment Project Area Committee, sidewalks and streetlights would get the highest allocation of remaining redevelopment dollars. It seems the neighborhood dreams of asphalt, not stadium turf.
Meeting their demand would mean reforming bureaucracies and systems that have kept the city from spending money it actually has for road repairs. It would also mean safeguarding funds for future maintenance.
Could the mayoral candidates deliver?
On Streets
Of the redevelopment money the city says it can keep, nearly $90 million would go toward repairing sidewalks and installing streetlights in City Heights. That’s because the neighborhood has some serious concrete deficiencies – lacking sidewalks altogether in some areas – that put pedestrians and cyclists at risk.
According to Health Equity by Design, City Heights residents see about twice as many pedestrian accidents as residents do citywide. Bicycle crashes are also disproportionately high.
Such deficiencies are especially troublesome because many in City Heights don’t drive. Sidewalk conditions impact their routes to school, work, even the grocery store.
Bikes advocate Samantha Ollinger told readers safe routes to transit and daily activities should be the top priority for the neighborhood’s elected officials. Nonprofits, too, have made advocating for better crosswalks, intersections and sidewalks a major focus.
What the Candidates Say
Councilman Carl DeMaio released a “Save Our Streets” plan early in his campaign. His plan would establish an “infrastructure lock box” that would net some of the extra revenues generated as the city’s general fund grows. Those dollars – nearly $500 million over five years, according to DeMaio – would have to be spent on streets, sidewalks and other infrastructure. DeMaio’s plan also calls for more regular audits of streets and the departments that manage them.
He would also limit union-friendly policies to open bidding competition and drive down the cost of maintenance. DeMaio has been very vocal in decrying contract labor agreements that benefit union workers, saying they cost taxpayers too much money.
District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis told our partner, voiceofsandiego.org, she would work through the maintenance backlog by assembling a team to assess which projects should be completed first. She said areas with high accident rates should be addressed first. She’s relying on savings from pension reform and a ban on contract labor agreements to ensure future maintenance is funded.
Much of Congressman Bob Filner’s streets plan has centered on spreading revenues fairly. While he supported initial investment in downtown, he says the area is no longer blighted and its funds and agencies should support infrastructure and developments where they’re needed. Filner has not yet developed a comprehensive infrastructure plan, and it’s unclear how the end of redevelopment would impact his strategy.
Filner has the endorsement of the San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council, suggesting he doesn’t support a ban on contract labor agreements.
Like DeMaio, Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher has released a detailed plan for streets. In it, Fletcher says he’ll create a team and work with community members to prioritize and schedule maintenance projects. He promised to respond to all maintenance requests within 72 hours if elected mayor. Fletcher didn’t provide a plan to fund future maintenance; however, he’s also expecting pension reform and greater competition for public works contracts to help fill budget shortfalls.
Miss the previous installments of City Heights and the Mayor’s Race? Learn about redevelopment and education.