Mountain Charlie Road Los Gatos, CA photo cred: E. Bieber
Hey Neighbors,
I want to bring your attention to a recent Grand Jury report on Santa Cruz County's local roads. The report highlights a critical issue that affects our daily lives and safety, and it comes at a time when we've learned that the new budget allocates zero dollars for road maintenance.
The Grand Jury found that our unincorporated county roads are in deplorable condition, with more than 63% in poor to failed condition. This is not just an inconvenience; it's a safety hazard that can delay emergency responses and cause accidents. The recent failure of Mountain Charlie Road in the Los Gatos section of District 5 is a prime example. The problem stems from chronic underfunding over the past four decades, leading to a staggering backlog of deferred maintenance exceeding $800 million for roads and culverts.
What most don’t know is that the County prioritizes pavement preservation on better roads over repairing the worst ones. This approach, while cost-effective in the short term, has left many rural and local roads to deteriorate further. With increased traffic and more intense weather this will lead to more and more road failures.
Our roads are the lifelines of our community. I commit to fighting for our fair share of the budget and seeking additional funding sources to address this crisis. We must get creative and also make sure road maintenance and repair is equitable. I support the Grand Jury's recommendations, including increasing funding to repair at least one poor or failed road segment in each district annually.
We must act now to ensure safe and reliable transportation for all residents of the 5th District and Santa Cruz County. The current path is unsustainable and dangerous. I pledge to make road maintenance a top priority if elected.
In community, always.
Christopher
Christopher, thanks for disseminating this to your “future” constituents in the 5th district of Santa Cruz County.
Although this Grand Jury report is sad it doesn’t surprise nor shock me, having lived in Boulder Creek for 43 years now. It has long been my opinion that the “county”, nor the current 5th District Supervisor, cares about the SLV and the surrounding rural area. It’s difficult (except for the SLVWD) to get infrastructure repairs here such as Comcast, PG&E or AT&T. Verizon’s cell tower is 5 miles away through hills and trees, without internet (Comcast) I would get no data on my cell. We are lucky enough to live on a private road off of the state-maintained hwy. 9 where the…