City Asks Residents to Weigh In on Fire Protection and Street Repair Priorities

The City of Pasadena on Thursday launched a community survey and announced a forthcoming public meeting to gather resident input on fire protection, street and sidewalk repair, and other aging infrastructure systems, citing significant gaps between current funding and identified long-term needs.

According to the City, Pasadena maintains approximately 357 miles of streets, an estimated 291 miles of which need repair or maintenance. The City states that annual street funding averages approximately $5.5 million, while unfunded street and sidewalk repair needs are estimated at approximately $125 million.

The Pasadena Fire Department is also facing rising emergency call volumes, aging stations, and growing wildfire-preparedness demands, according to the City.

The community conversation is the latest step in long-running City planning efforts that have intensified since the January Eaton Fire, which the Pasadena Fire Department helped respond to and which destroyed thousands of structures across Altadena and parts of Pasadena. The City’s published Fire Department planning page identifies future needs that may include modernization and replacement of aging fire stations, additional emergency response staffing and apparatus, and long-term investments to maintain reliable citywide emergency coverage.

The City has not announced specific meeting dates. Additional information will be released “in the coming weeks,” according to the City press release.

According to the City’s Public Works “Great Streets and Sidewalks” page, Pasadena maintains about 550 miles of sidewalk and has a current citywide Pavement Condition Index of 57 on a 0-to-100 scale, where 0 represents failed pavement and 100 represents excellent. The same page states that baseline funding of $5.5 million annually allows the City to resurface approximately seven miles per year, with conditions projected to decline over time, while recent priority funding of about $11 million annually allows resurfacing of approximately 14 miles per year. To reach a citywide Pavement Condition Index of 80 and address the sidewalk repair backlog would require an estimated $125 million in additional investment, according to the City.

The City’s Fire Department planning page, referenced in Thursday’s release, includes a written message from Fire Chief Chad Augustin and outlines a 10-year operational and organizational plan. The plan was previewed to the Pasadena City Council on June 9, 2025, and presented in formal detail at a Sept. 29, 2025 Council meeting. According to the plan, short-term priorities for the first one to two years include adding a battalion chief; medium-term priorities for two to five years include adding a ninth fire company, a seventh rescue ambulance, and rebuilding Station 33; and longer-term priorities for five to 10 years include adding a third ladder truck and an eighth rescue ambulance, rebuilding Station 37, and constructing a new ninth fire station.

The Fire Department page lists cost estimates of approximately $30.5 million to rebuild Station 33, $34 million to rebuild Station 37, and $37.8 million for a new fire station. The May 14 release does not include an aggregate total cost for the Fire plan. The trade publication FireRescue1 reported on Oct. 3, 2025 that the long-term development plan presented to Council the previous week totaled approximately $227 million.

In his written message on the Fire Department page, Augustin said, “Pasadena has always held a high standard for public safety. My job is to make sure we keep earning that reputation. That means being honest about where we are: call volumes are rising, our facilities are aging, and the risks we face, from wildfires to major emergencies, are growing more complex. Staying ahead of those challenges requires investment, planning, and a department that is ready for what comes next.”

According to the City press release, the survey asks residents about fire and emergency response priorities, wildfire preparedness and disaster readiness, street and sidewalk maintenance needs, and traffic safety and mobility. The City states that the current effort is focused on education, transparency, public engagement, and gathering community feedback.

Augustin also said in his Fire Department page message, “Our priorities are straightforward: protect lives, maintain fast and reliable response times, and ensure our firefighters and paramedics have what they need to do their jobs well. When someone calls 911, they deserve a response they can count on and that is exactly the standard we are committed to upholding.”

The survey is available at bit.ly/PasadenaSurvey.  The City Service Center can be reached Monday through Friday during business hours at (626) 744-7311.