The figure I have heard and read repeatedly is that the budget available to simply maintain(!) Chico’s existing streets has been 20% of what was needed. And that this has been true for at least the last decade or two. What this means is our city’s roadway system is 80% unsustainable.
In the face of climate change, these annual budget constraints are not likely to improve. We must take every opportunity to plan and implement a transportation system that works.
Can we imagine an efficient city transportation system that survives on our budget? I think we can. But it will take developing a hard and carefully implemented overlay of our existing roads and streets that involve a much reduced pavement footprint, and weighted heavily in favor of the most efficient modes of travel. Priorities will have to be given to walkers and bicyclists, two modes proven healthy and sustainable for centuries.
But pedestrian/bike-ways do not stop there. These same pathways today carry the exploding load of the electric mobility vehicles of the future; one, two, three, and four wheeled E-mobility devices. Some pull trailers, some fit under a shopping cart or desk. Their cost is a small fraction of the individual maintenance costs of a gas or electric car.
I talked to a young adult at the checkout counter the other day. They were unloading their shopping basket with one hand while holding their single wheeled electric vehicle under their other arm.
Welcome to the 21st century.
