I believe that the city’s resurfacing priorities and curb and sidewalk program should focus solely on arterial and collector roads. Local residential roads should only be considered if they are at the point of failure. If not at the point of failure, these local streets should be appropriately patched.
While the city’s policy to try to balance the resurfacing program by allotting approximately 75% to arterials and 25% to residential streets is commendable, I believe that because of the limited funding, higher speed and traffic arterial streets should get 100% of the resurfacing dollars. To me, it is a fundamental waste of resources for a local street to get repaved, while the surrounding arterials are crater-filled hazard zones. While only a few people drive on the local streets, everyone drives on the arterials. The pothole problem on arterials streets is directly related to the increasing time lag between resurfacings. Arterial streets that have been fairly recently resurfaced have few, if any potholes, while those that haven’t are riddled with them. These potholes cause expensive damage to vehicles, damage that people can not afford, particularly with the inflationary economy of the last several years. These potholes can also cause accidents and injuries.
For those reasons, I am asking that no requests be made to pave local streets, and I would ask that DPW only resurface those local streets that are at a point of failure.
Lastly, I would ask that sidewalk priorities also be focused on arterial roads for many of the same reasons. Although, the DPW’s general policy is to not construct new sidewalks, so as not to add to the future repair inventory; it seems to me that eliminating sidewalk gaps along arterial streets is much more important, particularly more important than replacing sidewalks along local streets, again, since the pedestrian traffic on arterial streets is heavier and generally transportation-related and not recreational. I would ask that the curb and sidewalk program focus on eliminating sidewalk gaps along arterial streets and extending the sidewalk network in major traffic areas.
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