Town Of Moraga

Revenue Enhancement Community Outreach to Neighborhoods (RECON) Committee

Neighborhood Street Condition Survey Now Online!

The RECON Committee has been busy giving presentations to service groups, neighborhood associations, and concerned citizens for the past several months.  At these presentations the audience has been asked to take a short, six question survey to help the committee gain a better understanding of what people want and how they feel.

Now that survey is online, and you can take part in helping the Town decide how to fix the failing streets.  Click here to take the survey.

RECON Committee

A recently released report (the “Pothole Report”) of the nine counties in the Bay Area placed Moraga roads in the “At Risk” category—one of the two lowest rankings possible. This means that Moraga’s streets are on the verge of failure, suffering from large potholes and cracks, which will turn in to major breaks and sinkholes if not addressed.

Given our fiscally conservative budget, which provides for primarily essential services, we do not have the resources to adequately maintain our infrastructure. The current backlog of work that is needed is estimated at around $25 million. Even with the tightening of belts it is simply not possible to find that money in our annual budget.

Residents have become increasingly surprised and frustrated when discussing why Moraga roads continue to decline at such an alarming rate. Part of the answer lies with the Town’s fiscal realities. Moraga receives much lower revenues, including property tax and sales tax, compared to other communities.

Because of the minimal revenue that the Town receives, there is relatively no chance for increased spending on neighborhood roads.  This is why the Town needs the help of residents to create a community-wide discussion about the road conditions and the fiscal options available to fix them.

The Town needs help to spread the word about the condition of the neighborhood roads and an open discussion of the options that the residents may have in future funding of a long-term repair strategy.  That is why the Town created the Revenue Enhancement Community Outreach to Neighborhoods (RECON) Committee. 

The RECON Committee's Three Main Goals

1.  To inform residents of the worsening conditions of local roads;

2.  To work with residents to determine what infrastructure improvements the community feels are necessary; and

3.  To help residents determine what type of funding mechanism would be most effective to achieve these improvements.

How Bad Are Our Streets, Really?

Currently, most residents find the streets mildly annoying.  You just drive around that dip, or curse that pothole, right?  Unfortunately those cracks, dips, and potholes are merely the symptoms of underlying failures that are getting worse.  The two maps here show the neighborhood street conditions - as they are currently and as the computer models project them to be in ten years.  Ten years from now, you will have a much harder time avoiding those potholes.

Neighborhood Streets - Current Conditions

Neighborhood Streets - Ten Year Projection

How You Can Help

The RECON Committee is looking to for volunteers to host a gathering of friends and neighbors to discuss the condition of our neighborhood streets and what we, as a community, can do to fix them.  If you would like more information on hosting, please contact Ellen Beans at ellen.beans@gmail.com.

For more information, please e-mail the Committee at recon@moraga.ca.us.

Articles

Urgent Issues Part 1 - Local Road Conditions

Urgent Issues Part 2 - Why Does Moraga Receive So Little From Taxes?

Urgent Issues Part 3 - How You Can Help 

Important Documents

Metropolitan Transportation Commission: The Pothole Report

Moraga's Roads "At Risk" Presentation

Frequently Asked Questions

Report to Town Council on February 16, 2011

Press Release Regarding Community Survey

July 2010 Presentation to Town Council

February 2011 Presentation to Town Council

Members