• 2024-29 Pavement Plan
• Pavement Management Brochure

Largely due to funding made possible by the Local Sales Tax increase, the City of San Luis Obispo has been able to implement an ambitious Pavement Maintenance Plan (PMP) which was adopted by the City Council on April 14, 1998 and updated in 2009. Each year Public Works performs significant street maintenance with the aid of a private contractor. Because determining the scope of this paving work is a complex process, it naturally generates questions from our community.

Placing hot mix asphalt in preparation for pavement reinforcing grid.

How does the City determine which streets to pave?
There are a number of factors that determine which streets will be worked on for the year, including:

• The street location within the city
• The number of cars that use the street
• The street’s existing condition
• The budget

1. Street location
The City is divided into 9 pavement areas and work generally moves from one area to another each year. That means if a street is paved or sealed, we probably won't be back there for 7 to 9 years. For the two years prior to completing street paving, utility lines are replaced, small pavement and sidewalk repairs are made, and sidewalk ramps are installed. This is done to minimize cuts into new street pavement which reduce its life. The core downtown area receives attention as appropriate every year as its streets are heavily used and are central to the City's tourist economy.

Check out our Paving Area Map to see how the City's pavement areas are divided.

2. Number of cars
The City Council was clear in developing the program for street maintenance; busy streets deserve more attention. This means that regardless of what area we would normally be working in, a heavily trafficked street such as Madonna Road or Los Osos Valley Road may get attention more often than a residential street.

3. Street's existing condition
This is probably the most difficult part of the City's program to explain. Let's look at it this way:

Say you have $1,000 to spend this year on pavement maintenance and here is a list of streets you have that need maintenance:

• One (1) street that is falling apart which will take $1,000 to restore to good condition.
• Three (3) streets that are in moderate condition which will take $300 a piece to restore to good condition.
• And lastly, seven (7) streets that are in good shape. If you spend $100 on each of them, you can maintain their condition.

So, if your goal is to have as many good streets as you can for the next 10 years, how do you spend the money?

The likely answer to this question by the City would be to spend $700 on the streets that are in good condition to prevent them from deteriorating, and $300 on one of the streets in moderate condition.

The City has many streets to maintain and so must look at more than just those that are in poor condition to determine how to best spend the available funds. That means we plan on repairing all streets in poor condition and rebuilding them. Once that happens, they are regularly sealed to keep them in good shape.

4. The budget
The City typically spends between $1,000,000 and $3,000,000 per year on pavement maintenance. In 2021 the City spent approximately $3.8 million on pavement maintenance.

Additional questions that arise include the following:

What is that black stuff that gets painted on?
When a street is generally in decent condition with some cracks and areas of failure, the street is sealed with an asphaltic material to prevent more costly repairs down the road. Water intrusion is a primary cause of street failure and sealing a street keeps water from penetrating the surface. If sealing is done on a regular basis, it can delay the reconstruction of any street considerably.

How important is the Pavement Management Program?
Roadways are the backbone of all other services we need. Without them emergency services such as police and fire protection cannot respond to our needs. Without roadways simple needs like going to the grocery store or the park could be more challenging for our residents. In essence, good roads help us get to the things that we need and like to do.

The City has maintained a good quality Pavement Management Program (PMP) for many years, exceeding that of many other cities and counties. A review of the PMP by a private consultant confirmed that the program is well-thought-out and on track. Our PMP incorporates the elements that are expected of successful pavement plans which are:

• Review of pavement performance
• Public perception
• Impact of pavement treatments
• Impact of varied funding levels

Do we always stick to the schedule?
Unfortunately, that is not always possible. Although we do the best we can to keep to the scheduled maintenance program, occasionally something unexpected happens, such as emergency utility repairs in the affected area or a shift in funds available, and the paving priorities can change accordingly.

How has the Local Sales Tax increase impacted our pavement management?
Since the ½ cent increase was approved in 2006, in 2014, and the passage of Measure G-20 in 2020, our community has invested over $15 million in roadway maintenance.

What paving projects are scheduled in the next several years?
For a list of paving projects scheduled, see the City's current Paving Plan Map.

The above information is available as a Pavement Management Brochure in PDF format for saving.

For more questions concerning the City's Pavement Management Program, contact the Public Works Department at: (805) 781-7200