County OKs Wildcat Canyon Road paving, park projects
By Joe Naiman
The mid-year budget adjustments approved by the San Diego County Board of Supervisors last Tuesday included $454,362 for rubberized asphalt paving on Wildcat Canyon Road and $130,000 for comprehensive health guidelines and community programs at county parks.
The supervisors’ 5-0 vote approved a net increase of $1 million in 2011-12 general fund expenditures with additional appropriations of $1.16 million and cancellation of $98,890 of appropriated funds. The net increase for all other funds was $608,364 with $2.1 million added and $1.5 million canceled.
The county had a balance of $136.4 million in its general fund and $196.4 million in its other funds for the first two quarters of Fiscal Year 2011-12, which will end on June 30.
Money for the rubberized asphalt paving of Wildcat Canyon Road, which will also include installation of centerline rumble strips, comes from the Indian Gaming Special Distribution Fund, which provides grants to local governments for use to mitigate off-reservation impacts of tribal casinos.
Although rubberized asphalt concrete is approximately 10 percent more expensive than ordinary asphaltic concrete, the rubberized surface has proven to be more durable than normal asphalt concrete, according to the county. Rubberized asphalt concrete also decreases noise by four to six decibels.
The county’s Department of Public Works identifies specific road segments where the use of rubberized asphalt concrete would provide optimum benefit. In addition to focusing on roads in need of repaving, the benefit is maximized on roads with high traffic volumes close to residential streets.
Part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 was the Communities Putting Prevention to Work program. The county’s Health and Human Services Agency received a CPPW grant and is partnering with various county departments including the Department of Parks and Recreation. The $130,000 grant will pay for comprehensive park design guidelines that will consider the health impact of community accessibility, demographics, needs assessments, active recreation, and safety concerns.
County Parks and Rec will use the guidelines to adopt community gardens and farmers’ market policies. Implementation of the policies will pay for trail counters to record the number of visitors at each site.