Local governments might start grading roads.
No, not smoothing out rough dirt roads, but giving reports cards on pavement conditions.
The Pima Association of Governments regional council will talk about the possibility of report cards and road repair money at its meeting this week.
Somebody's probably going to get grounded for his or her grades.
PAG recently hired consultant Curtis Lueck to report on the region's road-maintenance problem and best practices for pavement upkeep.
He found most local governments have the tools they need to manage "pavement life cycle costs" but don't have the money to match those costs.
"The bottom line is that road maintenance is currently underfunded, which will cost us all much more in the long run," Lueck wrote.
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It's a funding fortune, actually.
The city needs $875 million in road repairs, and the county needs at least $240 million in fixes.
Lueck pointed to a study by Oro Valley that showed how deferred-maintenance costs stack up. The town could keep its road system nice and smooth for about $1.2 million a year, according to the study. But if it cut maintenance money entirely for five years, the estimated cost to fix streets jumped to $65 million, the study showed.
Lueck also looked at how other Arizona cities and counties manage to pay for their pothole repairs. Some use state gas-tax money, general funds, bond money or earmarked sales tax money to pay for road repairs.
Besides report cards, Lueck recommends PAG create a regional task force to come up with solutions.
STREETCAR UPDATE
One of the main intersections on the University of Arizona campus - Mountain Avenue and Second Street - is closing today for streetcar construction, and it will stay closed until early November.
You can still get to the parking garage near the Student Union by using Cherry Avenue and Second Street or by using Park Avenue and James E. Rogers Way. Watch for officers directing traffic.
I-10 PROJECT COSTS MORE
The Arizona Department of Transportation is asking PAG to spend $700,000 on the Interstate 10-Prince project to cover unexpected expenses related to utilities.
The money will come from PAG's share of the taxes you pay at the pump. PAG's share of the money can be spent only on state and federal routes.
DIAL-A-RIDE COSTS LESS
After the merger earlier this year of Oro Valley's Coyote Run with the regional Sun Shuttle Dial-a-Ride system, ridership is up 54 percent and costs are down.
The merger is saving the town $25,000 a year and saving the Regional Transportation Authority $162,000 a year, according to an RTA report.
Now the RTA wants to use the savings to expand the system to serve Old Town Marana and Gladden Farms, beginning next year.
ROAD Q
Steve Seltzer asks whether state law prohibits officers from giving a speeding ticket to drivers unless they are going 11 mph over the speed limit.
A: Road Runner suspects the rule you're thinking of is drivers have to be going 11 mph above the speed limit to trigger photo-enforcement cameras. But that applies only to cameras, not to an actual police officer.
"Anything in excess of the speed limit would get any police officer's attention," but state law allows them to use discretion based on what they think is a "reasonable and prudent" driving speed, said Arizona Department of Public Safety Officer Carrick Cook.
What's magic about 11 is the type of ticket and fine you could get. The faster you go, the more you owe.
Send your Road Q questions by email to roadrunner@azstarnet.com or to 4850 S. Park Ave., Tucson, AZ 85714. Please include first and last names.
