Mayor Todd Gloria was expected to bring a $145 million plan before a city council committee Thursday that includes road, library, drainage and park upgrades and repairs across the city during the fiscal year that starts July 1.
"We are taking action to address the decadeslong neglect of our infrastructure now, instead of kicking the can down a pothole-riddled road," Gloria said in a statement Thursday, promising the work will improve the quality of life for city residents.
Gloria plans to finance the repairs and improvements by borrowing $145 million.
About $28.4 million of roughly $60 million in proposed funding for mobility and transportation would go to road repairs in historically underserved communities, supplementing $10 million already included in the city budget for that purpose in those areas. Gloria plans to ask city council members for lists of their top-priority street and road projects.
Tens of millions of dollars are slated for additional improvements. Highlights include:
— $10.3 million to install or upgrade street lights;
— $4.8 million to fix sidewalks;
— $12.6 million for renovations of the Botanical Building in Balboa Park;
— $2.7 million to repair the roof of the park's federal building, which was built in 1935 to hold some of the exhibits at the California Pacific International Exposition.
The city council's Active Transportation and Infrastructure Committee will consider the plan in a special meeting Thursday at 2 p.m. before sending it to the full city council.
