Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Torrey Pines Road pothole problems never stopped

Case involving injured bicyclist reveals city made patches to no avail

The pothole on Torrey Pines Road that cyclist Jonathan Sammartino struck in March 2015 — sending him over his handlebars head first into the concrete — had been on the city's radar for more than four years, according to documents obtained by the Reader through a public records request.

Those documents show that residents had notified the city of potholes existing on the 1600 block of Torrey Pines Road on numerous occasions since January 2011. In fact, records show that the potholes were filled and then refilled several times throughout the five-year span that the public records request covered.

For example, on April 28, 2011, city crews patched two potholes at that location. The following month, in May 2011, there was another complaint submitted to the city for the same location. In December 2011, crews returned to the site and patched three more potholes.

Sponsored
Sponsored

In February 2013, the city again received a complaint of potholes on the 1600 block of Torrey Pines Road. Once again, crews showed up and made repairs to a 20-square-foot length of asphalt; another complaint was submitted in August 2014 for a pothole at that location. The following month crews filled the hole.

In March 2015, Sammartino rode over the pothole on his bike; it caused him to crash into the pavement. The collision knocked him unconscious. He suffered seizures and upon admittance to Scripps Memorial Hospital doctors discovered his brain was bleeding. After a five-day stint in the intensive care unit, Sammartino was transferred to an outpatient rehabilitation facility to recover.

In February 2016, Sammartino sued the city for, among other reasons, failing to protect the public.

According to the complaint, the "pothole is visible on images on the Internet, including satellite images and from street-view images taken months before the accident...

"The City of San Diego likely had actual notice of the condition, such as by observation or citizen complaints, but at very least had constructive notice of the dangerous condition sufficient in time to have taken measures to protect against the dangerous condition...."

In recent years the city has agreed to settle lawsuits over dangerous roads and sidewalks. And, in a March 4 audit, San Diego's city auditor said conditions will worsen as long as crews fail to adopt adequate guidelines when addressing a deteriorating public right-of-way.

Earlier this month, mayor Kevin Faulconer announced a budget proposal that, if adopted, would dedicate millions of dollars to improving the city's failing infrastructure.

Not all were impressed with his declaration.

Mayoral candidate Lori Saldaña told the Union-Tribune that Faulconer's proposal was far from adequate.

"It does not make sense to patch a pothole as the road around it disintegrates. Such shortsighted ‘solutions’ are what got us here in the first place."

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Live Five: Songwriter Sanctuary, B-Side Players, The Crawdaddys, Saint Luna, Brawley

Reunited, in the round, and onstage in Normal Heights, East Village, Little Italy, Encinitas

The pothole on Torrey Pines Road that cyclist Jonathan Sammartino struck in March 2015 — sending him over his handlebars head first into the concrete — had been on the city's radar for more than four years, according to documents obtained by the Reader through a public records request.

Those documents show that residents had notified the city of potholes existing on the 1600 block of Torrey Pines Road on numerous occasions since January 2011. In fact, records show that the potholes were filled and then refilled several times throughout the five-year span that the public records request covered.

For example, on April 28, 2011, city crews patched two potholes at that location. The following month, in May 2011, there was another complaint submitted to the city for the same location. In December 2011, crews returned to the site and patched three more potholes.

Sponsored
Sponsored

In February 2013, the city again received a complaint of potholes on the 1600 block of Torrey Pines Road. Once again, crews showed up and made repairs to a 20-square-foot length of asphalt; another complaint was submitted in August 2014 for a pothole at that location. The following month crews filled the hole.

In March 2015, Sammartino rode over the pothole on his bike; it caused him to crash into the pavement. The collision knocked him unconscious. He suffered seizures and upon admittance to Scripps Memorial Hospital doctors discovered his brain was bleeding. After a five-day stint in the intensive care unit, Sammartino was transferred to an outpatient rehabilitation facility to recover.

In February 2016, Sammartino sued the city for, among other reasons, failing to protect the public.

According to the complaint, the "pothole is visible on images on the Internet, including satellite images and from street-view images taken months before the accident...

"The City of San Diego likely had actual notice of the condition, such as by observation or citizen complaints, but at very least had constructive notice of the dangerous condition sufficient in time to have taken measures to protect against the dangerous condition...."

In recent years the city has agreed to settle lawsuits over dangerous roads and sidewalks. And, in a March 4 audit, San Diego's city auditor said conditions will worsen as long as crews fail to adopt adequate guidelines when addressing a deteriorating public right-of-way.

Earlier this month, mayor Kevin Faulconer announced a budget proposal that, if adopted, would dedicate millions of dollars to improving the city's failing infrastructure.

Not all were impressed with his declaration.

Mayoral candidate Lori Saldaña told the Union-Tribune that Faulconer's proposal was far from adequate.

"It does not make sense to patch a pothole as the road around it disintegrates. Such shortsighted ‘solutions’ are what got us here in the first place."

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Rapper Wax wishes his name looked like an email password

“You gotta be search-engine optimized these days”
Next Article

Reader writer fends off attacks on Encinitas cliff story

Says each letter writer takes on only part of the article
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader