Del Rioan Dee Money asks questions about how city officials decide which streets to pave during a recent Town Hall meeting held by District II City Councilman Jim DeReus. (Photo by Karen Gleason)
NEWS — Paving, streets top concerns for citizens attending Town Hall
By Karen Gleason
The 830 Times
Ongoing work on city streets topped a discussion during a recent Town Hall meeting held by a city councilman who represents the city’s north side.
District II City Councilman Jim DeReus hosted the meeting in the Pecan Room at the civic center in mid-October.
Less than a handful of citizens attended the meeting, but DeReus asked each to speak about their concerns.
He began with Del Rioan Dee Money, who regularly attends the Town Hall get-togethers.
Though at first Money said she “just came to listen and learn,” she did ask DeReus whom to call “if you have a hole in the street.”
That exchange led to a discussion about the city’s street work in general.
City Manager John Sheedy, left, and Councilman Jim DeReus speak to Del Rioans about city concerns, including street paving and potholes, during a recent Town Hall meeting held at the civic center. (Photo by Karen Gleason)
“One of the things (City Manager) John (Sheedy) and I have talked about is doing a master survey of the city and saying, here are all our streets and categorizing them: These are the ones we got to do now. These are the ones we need to focus on, and these ones should be good for the next year or two, so we can actually prioritize them a little more,” DeReus said.
He said street work can be slowed because city paving is now done in conjunction with water and sewer replacement projects.
“Everyone remembers four or five years ago now, I think, down on Canal, they did this awesome pavement just past the bridge by the Brown Plaza, and then two weeks later, they tore it up to put in some new pipes and had to redo it. We want to avoid that,” DeReus said.
He said city elected officials and administrators have also been talking about changing the type of pavement mix used on city streets.
“It will be an investment, and it will take a couple of years for it really to start paying dividends, but if the roads last 20 or 25 years as compared to the eight to 10 that they’re lasting now, then you can actually catch up a little bit more,” he said.
Sheedy also spoke about the paving question, noting that the city has changed its “paving philosophy.”
This is a view of Nicholson Street looking northeast from its intersection with Strickland Street. The city has undertaken a reconstruction of Nicholson, part of the city’s annual paving and street maintenance plan. (Photo by Karen Gleason)
“In the past, they were just trying to go fast, and so by going faster, we have a lot of multiple overlays after overlays after overlays, which also impacts our drainage because when we do our streets, we’re supposed to cut down to the base, we’re supposed to repack the base, add the base, and then come back with our paving hot mix,” Sheedy said.
He said an example of the city’s new “paving philosophy” could be seen in the ongoing reconstruction of Nicholson Street on the city’s south side.
Both DeReus and Sheedy said the city is also looking at new technology and new materials that could extend the life of pavement.
Sheedy said he is hoping to do a streets workshop with the entire city council to seek their input on local street problems.
Sheedy said another recurring issue the city is working to address is street and property flooding that occurs on the city’s south side during and after intermittent rain events.
NEWS — Paving, streets top concerns for citizens attending Town Hall
By Karen Gleason
The 830 Times
Ongoing work on city streets topped a discussion during a recent Town Hall meeting held by a city councilman who represents the city’s north side.
District II City Councilman Jim DeReus hosted the meeting in the Pecan Room at the civic center in mid-October.
Less than a handful of citizens attended the meeting, but DeReus asked each to speak about their concerns.
He began with Del Rioan Dee Money, who regularly attends the Town Hall get-togethers.
Though at first Money said she “just came to listen and learn,” she did ask DeReus whom to call “if you have a hole in the street.”
That exchange led to a discussion about the city’s street work in general.
“One of the things (City Manager) John (Sheedy) and I have talked about is doing a master survey of the city and saying, here are all our streets and categorizing them: These are the ones we got to do now. These are the ones we need to focus on, and these ones should be good for the next year or two, so we can actually prioritize them a little more,” DeReus said.
He said street work can be slowed because city paving is now done in conjunction with water and sewer replacement projects.
“Everyone remembers four or five years ago now, I think, down on Canal, they did this awesome pavement just past the bridge by the Brown Plaza, and then two weeks later, they tore it up to put in some new pipes and had to redo it. We want to avoid that,” DeReus said.
He said city elected officials and administrators have also been talking about changing the type of pavement mix used on city streets.
“It will be an investment, and it will take a couple of years for it really to start paying dividends, but if the roads last 20 or 25 years as compared to the eight to 10 that they’re lasting now, then you can actually catch up a little bit more,” he said.
Sheedy also spoke about the paving question, noting that the city has changed its “paving philosophy.”
“In the past, they were just trying to go fast, and so by going faster, we have a lot of multiple overlays after overlays after overlays, which also impacts our drainage because when we do our streets, we’re supposed to cut down to the base, we’re supposed to repack the base, add the base, and then come back with our paving hot mix,” Sheedy said.
He said an example of the city’s new “paving philosophy” could be seen in the ongoing reconstruction of Nicholson Street on the city’s south side.
Both DeReus and Sheedy said the city is also looking at new technology and new materials that could extend the life of pavement.
Sheedy said he is hoping to do a streets workshop with the entire city council to seek their input on local street problems.
Sheedy said another recurring issue the city is working to address is street and property flooding that occurs on the city’s south side during and after intermittent rain events.
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Contact the author at delriomagnoliafan@gmail.com
Brian
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