Bureau of Street Services

This past Saturday I had the opportunity to hear Mr. Nazario Sauceda, General Manager of the Bureau of Street Services, speak.  Following are some notes from his presentation.

The Street System in LA has 6,500 center lane miles and 28,000 lane miles of streets.  The equivalent of a two lane freeway between the cities of Los Angeles and Paris, France.  The street network is a big challenge.  All cities have problems with streets and have the same concerns.  The elected officials years ago were dedicated to developing LA and paid little attention to the maintenance.  The street network aged with very little or no maintenance.  Mr. Sauceda's State of the Streets in LA report shows 31% of our streets are in either poor or fail condition.  If you go out to different neighborhoods 6 will be in good shape, one will be very bad.  People from all over the world who come to visit see our streets in fair condition.  Overall Mr. Sauceda's  job as caretaker of the street network is to take care of the entire street network.  In 1982 the Bureau of Street Services (BOSS) created the first inventory of streets and they realized how big and the condition of the streets really is in Los Angeles.  LA has 70,000 city blocks. The biggest in the nation.  In 1982 the first inventory assessment was subjective. In 1998 Bill Robertson gave Nazario the task to adopt a pavement management system that is scientific.  He met Dr. Shahin who was paid by the US Army to develop a pavement management system.  In 1998 BOSS adopted the "micro paver".  It is the most sophisticated and elite pavement management system in the world.  They do not select streets by throwing darts.  The city has an automated van that cost $750,000.  It has sophisticated equipment inside and outside including high definition cameras that capture all the information into the system.  The information analyzes the stresses and uses the info to know what's underneath.  This is how they quantify the conditions of the streets.  BOSS then creates the PCI (pavement condition index).  Used internationally, PCI grades the street.  For every single block in the City there is a PCI.  When you call to report that the street is terrible, BOSS has the information on the condition instantly.  LA has special weather and BOSS has created the life expectancy of the streets.  With this data they know when to slurry seal.  This way they can spend less to resurface.  PCI tells the condition of the street right now and 10 years from now.  Micro Paver will help develop the best strategy for the streets to maximize every dollar budgeted to BOSS. The State of the Streets was created in 2001.  31% of our streets are in terrible condition.  Right now the average PCI is 62.  The elected officies didn't give enough money to streets. How can BOSS improve the infrastructure without the money?  This year they will complete 800 miles. Last year they completed 747 miles.  Information is available so neighborhood councils can make decisions to prioritize streets in their neighborhoods. (see neighborhod council service request form below) 

Streets should be funded by the general fund, not special assessment.  Meetings regarding the street bond issue will be coming up in the future.  Funding is allocated by three conditions of the streets:  the pavement condition of the street, average width and area of the street (it doesn't cost the same money to pave a 30 ft width street as 100 ft., traffic and type of traffic. Downtown LA has a tremendous amount of buses and these elements are taken into consideration in the amount of funding to BOSS each year.    Question that some City Council districts get more improvements than others is not true.  For the past 3 years it has been Mr. Sauceda's job that if there's not enough money to improve the network then he's worked to average the PCI at 61 or 62 in all council districts.   Question re: pothole repair call response times.  Only 50% are pothole problems.  If a DWP area is sinking, it is not a pothole.  A lot of times a deteriorated lane requires more than fixing potholes.  BOSS and DWP have a close relationship and work together on specific issues.  Main concern is that the street is safe.  Busses cause problems.  Weight of the busses is very heavy.  Gutter passes are deteriorated but the center is fine.  MTA complains that the streets damage the busses.  Why haven't we been able to put in the budget the money BOSS needs? This is where residents need to express what's important.  Public Safety is #1.   The city is not generating enough revenue to pay for public safety first and then street services.  Budget was $60 million six years ago to $105 million now.  The way council and mayor have funded the pavement preservation program is historical and incredible compared to what we use to do.  We have a lot of sub-standard streets in the hillsides you don't correct areas that collect water?  Primary damage comes from Bureau of Sanitation.  The streets where they go are the worst.  It's the biggest concern because now 3-4 different trucks come through to pick up trash.  Trucks are LNG now due to AQMD mandate that all trucks be replaced.  These trucks are heavier.  On one hand we're being more green and on the other side we are creating more damage.  Final comment: This department is the only department that has the data of the total amount of work and total cost of doing that work.  Maybe other departments can follow.

After reading the below you can see more information at the Bureau of Street Services website: http://bss.lacity.org/index.htm -- At this website you can open the neighborhood council street assessment guide and see the BOSS reports on the condition of our streets in Sunland-Tujunga.

To add your street to the STNC's neighborhood service request form call the STNC office at 818-951-7411

Neighborhood Council Request Form