Where San Diego residents are reporting potholes the most

Facing a $146 million shortfall, San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria’s proposed budget would cut city jobs, funding for the arts and more. 

But one service the mayor hopes to increase? Pothole repairs.

Gloria’s budget calls for a boost to Transportation Department spending, including $17 million specifically earmarked for asphalt and pothole repair. That would target a persistent problem in San Diego — and could be welcome news to residents, especially in the city’s central neighborhoods, who have filed thousands of requests for fixes over the past five years.

A growing backlog: The city’s almost 3,000 miles of roads and alleys are managed by the historically underfunded and under-resourced Transportation Department. Staff have warned that the gap is widening between how much money the department needs to maintain roads and the actual funding it receives.

Gloria wrote to San Diegans in his proposed budget that “even in a constrained budget year, we must continue addressing deferred infrastructure needs that, if ignored, only become more costly with time.”

Show me the potholes: Data from the city’s Get it Done app clearly shows where San Diego residents are complaining the most: Mira Mesa has requested over 2,480 pothole repairs since last January. Clairemont Mesa is just behind with over 2,100. 

Higher-populated neighborhoods tend to see the most requests, the data shows. Councilmember Kent Lee, whose District 6 includes Mira Mesa, was unavailable for comment, his office said. Lee’s reelection campaign website touts more than 95 miles of roads repaved and over 23,000 potholes repaired across his district since he took office.

Clairemont, represented by Councilmember Jennifer Campbell, is one of the city’s largest communities. 

A spokesperson for Campbell said that while Clairemont and Mira Mesa report the highest number of pothole requests, they’re both in districts that see the highest number of repairs. Campbell’s office said it also anticipated road conditions will improve in Clairemont as part of the Pure Water project construction.

Planning for pavement: Gloria has tried to address the roads while in office. (Remember Sexy Streets?) In 2024, the city also launched the Pavement Management Plan to identify and prioritize street improvements over the next 10 years. 

The Street Division is responsible for the city’s street paving program, including asphalt repair and trench restoration, pothole repair, slurry seal road repair and capital activities. The division says it repairs around 40,000 potholes annually.

Officials do point to progress. The mayor’s State of the City address touted over 44,000 potholes filled and nearly 470 miles of resurfaced or repaired roads this fiscal year. A city spokesperson also said staff reported the smallest backlog of potholes in recent memory heading into last year’s rainy season.

Gloria’s draft budget dedicates $89.1 million to the street paving program next fiscal year.

When it rains… : A Transportation Department spokesperson said pothole requests tend to be most frequent during periods of consistent rainfall. He added that the city reminds residents to send in pothole requests during these times, which could contribute to the spike in requests.

Take a look at 2023, when the city saw a massive swell of pothole repair requests that coincided with heavy rain. That year, San Diego saw more than twice the amount of rain than in 2022.

Grading San Diego’s roads: The city uses what’s called the pavement condition index, which ranges from 0-100 PCI, to rate the roads. 

San Diego’s overall pavement quality measured at 65 last year, which is considered “fair” condition. But staff say they expect the score to soon drop to 63.

The city had hoped to reach 70 PCI over the next 10 years, but recently shifted its strategy to maintain the current score due to funding shortfalls.

Money matters: Depending on funding levels, pavement management in San Diego can go several ways.

Maintaining the roads’ current score or improving it is held back by as much as a $2 billion funding gap. If funding levels remain unchanged, road quality is projected to decline to 52 PCI — categorized as “poor” condition — by 2036.

Neighborhood equity: The city’s latest plan calls for more “equity-based” investments, saying at least 43% of annual paving investments should happen in areas that score “very low,” “low,” or “moderate” on the Climate Equity Index.

And officials aren’t just focusing on where residents are reporting potholes the most. Now, when a neighborhood’s backlog falls below 100 service requests, a dedicated crew proactively identifies and repairs potholes there.

Zooming out: San Diego faces potentially brutal budget cuts. Sales, property and hotel tax revenues — which account for nearly two-thirds of the general fund revenue — are projected to decrease next year.

Other cities in California also have massive budget deficits, concurrent with the state’s projected deficit of $3 to $18 billion.

Gloria’s budget is not final. The City Council will discuss and vote on the final budget in early June.