About Public Works

Public Works Department is responsible for designing, building and maintaining the City's vast infrastructure which includes streets, traffic flow, storm drains, bridges, sidewalks, street lights, and the City fleet which includes buses, fire engines, and police patrol cars.

A healthy infrastructure is just as critical to the economic vitality and quality of life in the City as it is to the state and the nation. Our departmental charge is to protect and maintain the City’s vast infrastructure.

Maintaining City Roadways

Santa Rosa has over 500 miles of City streets, representing an approximate $1.4 billion investment in City infrastructure. Santa Rosa has more street mileage than most cities in the Bay Area, with only San Jose, Oakland and San Francisco having more street mileage.  Maintaining this vast and integral resource is challenging because often local, state and federal funding is insufficient to sustain the optimum life of our roadways.

Public Works addresses this challenge by looking for cost effective ways to extend the life of City roadways and prioritizing street maintenance so as to minimize the effects of deterioration.

Field Services

Each year we oversee the removal of more than 2,000 tons of litter and debris from the City's roadways. In five years graffiti removal services and removal costs from our roadway facilities has increased from $25,000 to more than $250,000. Our Streets and Electrical sections perform nearly 20,000 work orders, repairing the City's transportation infrastructure, including traffic signals, street lights, bridges, asphalt, sidewalks, and the electrical networks in public facilities.

Roadway Safety for All Modes of Transportation

We place a special focus on providing facilities for safe and accessible pedestrian and bicycle access to schools. Our Traffic Engineering Division provides traffic engineering services for the City with an emphasis on operating a safe and efficient street system, including school zone safety, pedestrian and bicyclist safety and neighborhood traffic calming.

Santa Rosa will continue to play a major role in addressing transportation (Highway 101, rail, transit, bicycle and pedestrian) issues at a regional level.  Traffic congestion relief on the existing street system is important.  The City is implementing an Intelligent Transportation /Advanced Traffic Control System and constructing projects to produce a more efficient roadway network.

Storm Water Quality

The City continues to meet and exceed the federal Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) mandated standards for storm water quality management. The Storm Water Utility was established to provide funding for National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit compliance activities. Such activities include public education, storm water quality testing, additional storm drain system mapping and analysis, system cleaning for storm water quality, and coordination with co-permittees and the Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB).

Greening the City Fleet

The City of Santa Rosa has one of the largest clean burning alternate fueled city fleets in the State of California. Currently we have nearly 100 pieces of hybrid, electric, compressed natural gas, or propane powered equipment.  The City of Santa Rosa also operates buses and heavy duty trucks that operate with diesel particulate filters which significantly reduce the amount of particulate matter released into the air.

Getting Involved and Staying Informed

Citizens provide the eyes and ears in our community and help us to maintain a safe street and pedestrian system. We appreciate your taking time to report any safety or repair concerns that you may have.

When a specific neighborhood issue is brought to our attention, the department will often conduct a neighborhood meeting to provide residents and homeowners with an opportunity to participate in discussion, ask questions, and offer feedback. Notice of such meetings is provided through correspondence, posting signs, door hangers and personal contact.

The department is also interested in input citizens may have with regard to capital improvement projects. The City Council provides you with the opportunity to present your input in various ways, including attendance at public hearings or submission of written ideas and concerns.

Rick Moshier
Director of Public Works
rmoshier@srcity.org