San Diego Councilman Mark Kersey says the city needs to take a comprehensive approach to fixing its potholes and water main breaks. He’s heading up a newly formed committee meant to handle San Diego’s infrastructure issues. Kersey said the city needs a five-year plan to tackle the problem.
"A lot of things are done haphazardly, just as people request projects. And that’s not really the best way of investing in infrastructure," he said. "So the creation of a five-year plan allows us to get a very citywide outlook as to what projects need to be done and what the (priorities) should be."
Kersey said the city should assess what projects the public wants first. He's aiming to have the five-year plan completed in time for the budget process for Fiscal Year 2015. Kersey said the city can borrow through bonds and put that money toward infrastructure improvements.
The cost of San Diego’s infrastructure backlog is estimated at about $900 million. But Kersey said that’s likely low because it doesn’t include things like fixing sidewalks and maintaining public buildings.
