As part of the preliminary, draft City budget for Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 that was released on April 15, the City of San Diego’s Transportation Department is poised to continue progress on fixing roads with funding for 390 lane miles of road repair, or approximately 6% of the total street network — an $83 million investment.  

Due to the projected $258 million deficit in the next fiscal year, the draft FY26 budget includes cuts to some service levels but prioritizes the most critical City programs and services that residents expect and rely on. For the City’s Transportation Department, reductions were initially anticipated to be approximately 10% of the department annual budget, or $11 million.  

However, thanks to revenue enhancements, and following discussions with the City’s finance team, the Gloria Administration was able to avoid the elimination of staff positions in the Transportation Department in order to repair 390 lane miles of streets as well as protect programs such as graffiti abatement, weed abatement and tree maintenance. The proposed street-repair plan includes approximately 242 lane miles of slurry/cape/scrub seal maintenance resurfacing and 147 lane miles of full resurfacing.  

“The Transportation Department receives over 10,000 Get it Done requests and calls to our Public Works Dispatch teams monthly,” said Bethany Bezak, Director of the Transportation Department. "This draft budget keeps our teams intact so they can continue to provide the essential road repair and traffic safety work that residents regularly request. Despite the City’s broader fiscal challenges, we remain focused on delivering results San Diegans are asking for – starting with smoother, safer roads.”  

Proposed reductions in the Transportation Department’s FY26 draft budget include $350,000 in supplies for traffic signal repairs and $362,000 for citywide tree-planting activities.  

Lane miles are used to measure the total length of all lanes on a road network. For example, one mile of road with two lanes counts as two lane miles. 

City departments will present their proposals to the City Council’s Budget Review Committee the week of May 5-9. The Transportation Department budget presentation and discussion are scheduled for Wednesday, May 7. To learn more, visit the City’s Fiscal Year 2026 Draft Budget webpage.