Active Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Meeting Summary – March 7, 2024
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Active Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Meeting
Date: March 7, 2024 – The committee met to discuss consent items, an affordable housing grant, stormwater capital improvements funded by a WIFIA loan, and an annual update from the Transportation Department. Key themes included infrastructure funding gaps, equity in mobility planning, and emergency response to January 2024 flooding.
Consent Calendar
- Items 1–4 were approved unanimously without discussion or pull requests. These included: a first amendment to agreements with Arcadis U.S., Kleinfelder, Construction Services, and WSP USA; a contract award to DLT Solutions for computer‑aided drafting services; a fifth amendment to Bentley Systems contract; and acceptance of $3.5 million in HUD grant funds for Garnett Avenue and Logan Avenue series circuit conversions. Councilmember Von Wilpert noted the competitive bid process for the AutoCAD contract and thanked staff for transitioning away from a sole‑source arrangement.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Chloe Lauer (Executive Director, San Diego County Bicycle Coalition) expressed strong concern that the 2024 pavement management plan ignores the city’s Complete Streets policy, Vision Zero commitments, and Climate Action Plan. She argued that maintaining all 6,600 lane miles is short‑sighted and called for a dramatic reduction in lane miles to align with sustainability goals.
- Sally Small (Emerald Hills, District 4) urged equitable treatment in the Mobility Master Plan for east‑end neighborhoods (Canto, Emerald Hills, O’Farrell) and requested attention to stormwater issues in Troyus Creek and Vision Zero safety improvements.
- Caller 7968 (District 3) gave tips for pedestrian safety downtown, requested a fix to pedestrian signal timing at Market and First Avenue, and thanked the city for installing protective posts on sidewalks.
- On consent agenda (Item 4), the same caller requested careful monitoring of streetlight surveillance privacy concerns.
- On Item 5 (affordable housing grant), the same caller expressed full support for the project and thanked staff.
- On Item 6 (WIFIA stormwater loan), Kathleen Lippitt urged the city to explore alternatives to reservoir releases (e.g., groundwater recharge, rain barrels) to conserve water. Mike Bullock questioned whether the city had analyzed the relationship between gas tax revenue and road maintenance costs. Sally Small noted that emergency projects listed did not include locations south of State Route 94 and asked for equitable protection. Naeem thanked the stormwater department for its transparency.
- On Item 7 (Transportation Department update), Caller 7968 praised the department’s work and called for honest budget discussions. Mike Bullock argued that the city must advocate for a state‑level road‑use charge to replace the declining gas tax.
Discussion Items
- Item 5 – Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities (AHSC) Grant: Amber Houser (Transportation Department) presented a $20 million state grant for the Harrington Heights project (273 units, 270 affordable) at 13th and Broadway. $6 million will fund downtown mobility improvements (separated bikeways, new signal at Pacific Highway and West Beach Street, 14th Street Greenway) and $300,000 for transit passes. Chair Whitburn noted 65 units for people experiencing homelessness, ten for homeless veterans. The item passed unanimously.
- Item 6 – WIFIA Loan for Stormwater Capital Projects: Todd Snyder (Stormwater Director) and Summer Hassan (Deputy Director) presented a request to appropriate $182.96 million for stormwater improvements, including $10.3 million for emergency projects from the January 22, 2024 storm. The WIFIA loan (EPA, 3.11% interest, 35 years) funds 49% of eligible projects; the city provides a 51% match. The original list of 83 projects was reduced to 52 due to feasibility, cost escalation, and federal requirements. 24 projects in the Chollas Creek watershed ($235 million) were highlighted. Emergency projects (11) will cost an estimated $20 million this year, with an additional $50 million needed in FY25. The IBA noted the debt capacity constraints and praised the proactive nature of the program. The motion to send the item to full council with a request for a project breakdown passed unanimously.
- Item 7 – Annual Transportation Department Update: Bethany Bizek (Director) presented a comprehensive update on the department’s 500‑plus employees. Key statistics: 6,600 lane miles, 60,000 potholes repaired in FY23, 1,100 miles of bike lanes maintained, 37,000 sidewalk repair locations backlogged, 55,000 streetlights with growing backlog, and a 10‑year paving funding gap of $1.2 billion. The department operates with high overtime (projected $4.3 million in FY24, equivalent to 43 full‑time positions) and a 10% vacancy rate. Accomplishments included hiring 140 positions, publishing a pavement management plan, and launching the Safe Sidewalk Program. The IBA noted that new revenue sources are required to avoid growing backlogs. No action was required; the item was information only.
Key Outcomes
- Consent Agenda (Items 1–4): Approved unanimously (4‑0).
- Item 5 (AHSC Grant): Motion to approve staff recommendation passed unanimously (4‑0).
- Item 6 (WIFIA Loan): Motion to send to full council with a request for a detailed breakdown of funded projects (Attachment A for CIP 0001 and 0001) passed unanimously (4‑0).
- Item 7 (Transportation Update): No vote required; information only.
- Next meeting: Scheduled for April 25, 2024 at 2:00 PM.
Meeting Transcript
Young bumps be on my shoes. Smoke to one ever. Appreciate the public's input and are fully committed to protecting every participant's free speech rights at council and committee meetings. Sarah, please proceed with further instructions. Thank you, Chair. Poor per rule 2.7 non-agenda public comment as an opportunity for members of the public to comment on items that are not on the agenda but are within the subject matter jurisdiction of this committee. Each speaker will have two minutes. If you're watching on City TV or the live stream online and would like to call in in the meeting to speak, please dial 1669-2545252. And when prompted, input webinar ID 160-976-1371 pound. I will announce when it is your turn to speak. You can unmute yourself by either selecting the unmute button or by pressing star six. We have not received any speaker slips here in chambers, so I will set the five-minute timer for all those to indicate in the virtual queue if they wish to comment. We will begin testimony with San Diego County Bicycle Coalition. Please unmute yourself and provide your testimony. Thank you so much, Chair Whitburn and members of the ATI committee. This is Chloe Lauer. I'm the executive director of the San Diego County Bicycle Coalition. The city's recently published 2024 pavement management plan is incredibly concerning. Throughout the whole document, there is no consideration of the impact of the complete streets policy, our stated commitment to zero traffic related fatalities and severe injuries by next year, otherwise known as Vision Zero, nor our stated climate action goals and our climate action plan on the maintenance of our roads. Continuing to maintain all 6,600 miles of roadways is short-sighted and irresponsible in terms of the use of money with serious consequences on our economic vitality and our community's public health. The only way San Diego can afford to keep all of its streets free from potholes and in good condition will be to dramatically reduce the number of lane miles in our transportation network. The cost of maintaining the status quo, which is exactly what the 1.9 billion dollars that are called for in the plan will do, is continued traffic deaths, climate change, states of emergency, like the ones we had recently due to flooding and stormwater runoff, millions of dollars in damages to homes and businesses. The benefits of change and thoroughly implementing our complete streets plans and policies will be lives saved, climate resilience, flooding impact will be reduced, emergencies avoided, and beautiful streets along with public health and walkability and bikeability. We urge the city to assess all plans that impact the ways that we travel, including the complete streets policy, mobility master plan, bike master plan, climate action plan, and vision zero to determine their impact on future roadway maintenance so that our limited funds can be maximized to meet our interconnected and complex goals. Thank you. Thank you for your testimony. Our next speaker is Sally. Sally, please unmute yourself and share your comments. You will have two minutes. Thank you very much. Hi, I'm Sally Small from Emerald Hills. Uh D4. So I'm asking in case we don't get Henry Foster, and we're still uh City Council person list, if that's work. Um, to please continue to think of us when it comes to the mobility master plan, where the east end of D4 and our areas and Canto, Emerald Hills, uh, O'Farrell are kind of left off the list. Um, and of course, we need the stormwater issues, specifically with our our Troyus Creek to be handled in an equitable manner. And I'm hoping that you will uh look at equity all the way across the board, especially for um D48 and 9 for their um continued neglect in multiple areas. Uh vision zero was is one of the areas that we need work on and uh keep people safe and healthy in our neighborhoods. Stormwater, stormwater, stormwater. Yes, I know. Thank you. Bye. Thank you for your testimony. And our next speaker is caller ending in 7968. Caller ending in 7968. Please unmute yourself and share your comments. Uh thank you, Sarah. Choice ten yeah, district three. First of all, I don't know if I've been asleep, but are those flags in a new position in the chamber? Because they look absolutely it looks gorgeous. Okay, here are my comments.
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