Civil Grand Jury finds current way to report Monterey County road issues confusing

SAND CITY, Calif. (KION) - A civil grand jury report from Monterey County says people are often confused about which entity to contact regarding traffic safety.

That's because roads in the county are owned and maintained by several different jurisdictions.

With the county owning over 12 hundred miles of roads, they say they receive several reports regarding road conditions, but oftentimes, it's not within county grounds.

"There are a lot of potholes. So yes, my car has been affected," said Suzanne Burns, who visits Sand City.

Driving around any road with less than perfect infrastructure can be rough on someone's vehicle and a safety hazard.

That's why, if drivers notice potholes, they have to swerve around. It's important to know where it's supposed to be reported.

"Sometimes we may not know of an issue, and it all involves public participation, all working together to know if there is something that has to be addressed," said Randy Ishii with Public Works.

Last year, the county's public works division received just under 4,000 requests for road maintenance. This ranged from road repairs to litter.

A recent grand jury report from Monterey County shows that out of the 12 incorporated cities, only two have no app or website where people can report road problems: Del Rey Oaks and Sand City.

"We need a website, we need an app, and it's not that difficult," said Burns.

The manager of Sand City says they sprang into action when they saw the report, and more improvements are in the works.

"We've already updated our website accordingly. And we're also in the major redesign of the new website, which will make it probably easier for the public to comment," said Vibeke Norgaard, City Manager of Sand City

Other nearby cities like Soledad and Salinas have both an app and a website with a link to a service request form.

The rest of the cities have a way to submit complaints through their website, except Monterey County, which Randy says they are working on.

We are going to look at it together as a team and explore how we can discuss and fulfill some of the recommendations," said Ishii.

Although Soledad, Salinas and the county of Monterey have apps available, the grand jury found that not many people are aware of them and that these locations should do a better job of letting the public know about them.

The full Civil Grand Jury Report can be found here: Road Safety in Monterey County: Where to Report A Problem