EDITORIAL

Let's not plan on potholes

Posted 9/22/16

Turn back the clock to the spring of 2015 and the condition of city roads dominated the headlines. It was no wonder. We had just gone through one of the most punishing winters in recent history with one storm after another. Snow piled up at the corners

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EDITORIAL

Let's not plan on potholes

Posted

Turn back the clock to the spring of 2015 and the condition of city roads dominated the headlines. It was no wonder. We had just gone through one of the most punishing winters in recent history with one storm after another. Snow piled up at the corners of intersections, making it treacherous to squeeze out into moving traffic, not to mention dangerous for pedestrians that were forced to walk in the street.

Snow removal equipment started breaking down. Salt and sand supplies were depleted. And worst of all, potholes were everywhere. The administration implemented a pothole hotline that did little to relieve the frustration, but gave a picture of the terrible condition of so many city streets.

When the mayor presented his budget that spring, the council took up the cause to increase funding for roads. The rhetoric was as heavy as the snow. We were told without good roads our economy was in jeopardy. Businesses would suffer and property values would decline. Concerns over safety were raised, and with the leadership of Councilman Ed Ladouceur, the thorny issue of the sidewalk shovel ordinance was revised to identify critical areas near schools, provide relief for hardship cases, and in cases where parking lots were cleared exempt business from clearing sidewalks.

The council came up with more money for roads. But even with a budget of $2 million, only a fraction of the problems could be addressed. Since then, roads have been a favorite topic at budget hearings, although with the memory of so many potholes fading other matters like excessive overtime make the headlines.

Today’s road repaving program is largely linked to National Grid’s schedule of replacing natural gas lines. Once the lines have been installed and the road allowed to settle, the city and the utility share the cost of repaving. It’s been a good system that has stretched the road budget. Of about $1 million spent so far this year on repaving, National Grid has paid almost $400,000.

The city has also paid close attention to areas where sewer or water work is planned. Paving roads only to have them dug up in a couple of years is a waste of taxpayer dollars. Unfortunately, other than temporary repairs, some of our worst roads in the Highland Beach and Riverview neighborhoods where sewer work is planned won’t get repaved for several years.

There are roads needing attention outside of those where the city can coordinate with utility repairs. This presents the city with a dilemma, as using the budget in coordination with the utility upgrades stretches the dollar and enables more miles of new paved roads, but it does nothing for roads where no utility work is being done.

DPW Director David Picozzi identified Jefferson Boulevard as one of those high-cost projects the city will need to address. The road is showing its age, and as a major thoroughfare it is vital to the city’s business community. Jefferson Boulevard is a big project and would chew up a huge chunk of the annual road budget. Likewise, roads where utility upgrades aren’t scheduled need to be fixed.

Some long-range planning and budgeting is needed. It may also take more money, so let’s work on that now and avoid the potholes of the future.

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