New sidewalks!

"shop-teacher" (shop-teacher)
08/07/2020 at 13:56 • Filed to: Houselopnik

The sidewalks along my property line have been atrocious for longer than I have owned the house. See below.

This actually was not the worst part. The worst part had already been fixed as part of the street reconstruction project. Yesterday afternoon I got word that the city was going to leave this as-is.

Today I got ahold of public works. I actually went to college with one of the engineers for the village. Apparently the village ran out of money because there were so many even worse places, but they were willing to fix it if I paid half. I then dropped off a $1500 check to cover my half of 387 sq-ft of sidewalk replacement.

I’m tired of looking at this. I’m tired of seeing people trip over it. I’m tired of shoveling snow on this busted ass crap. I just want it fixed!

They’re digging it up now! It’ll get poured on Monday.

DISCUSSION (47)

E90M3 > shop-teacher
08/07/2020 at 14:10

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

WHO IS STEVE THE PIRATE AND WHY IS HE TAKING PHOTOS OF YOUR SIDEWALK?!?!?

Bylan - Hoarder of LS400's > shop-teacher
08/07/2020 at 14:11

You are a good member of your neighborhood.

Its insane that you have to shell out your own personal money to make the city take care of public property.

ttyymmnn > shop-teacher
08/07/2020 at 14:11

It still boggles my mind that you have to split the cost with the city.

TheRealBicycleBuck > E90M3
08/07/2020 at 14:17

Steve? I know the guy. Met him at the gym. I think he was playing dodge ball or something. He can’t dodge wrenches, so I can’t imagine him being any good at dodging a ball .

Kinja'd!!!

Sovande > shop-teacher
08/07/2020 at 14:21

That's a good price for sidewalks.

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > shop-teacher
08/07/2020 at 14:24

The town DOW came by a bit ago and ripped up all the sidewalks on my street with a promise of replacing them. It's now been two weeks and they haven't done any further work.

Nom De Plume > shop-teacher
08/07/2020 at 14:26

$1.5K is not bad for what half would’ve been many other places. Glad your city was able was to produce a civil answer to your complaint. Congratulations are in order!

I got a very good laugh out of trying to shovel that. From experience living somewhere with real snow and cold I can tell the answer to that problem lied in the opposite direction. Shoveling snow onto it to create a flat even path with minimal rises and dips.

WilliamsSW > shop-teacher
08/07/2020 at 14:35

Those are probably the worst sidewalks I’ve ever seen, outside of an abandoned warehouse district.

shop-teacher > TheRealBicycleBuck
08/07/2020 at 14:37

But he did offer me a share of his booty ... whenever he finds it.

shop-teacher > ttyymmnn
08/07/2020 at 14:37

They did the parts they could afford on their own dime. I’m just happy it’s getting fixed!

shop-teacher > Nom De Plume
08/07/2020 at 14:39

Honestly, it went about as well as it possibly could have.

The actual technique when I use my snowblower, is to lift the scrapper edge up off of the pavement about 1/2" and skim over it.

shop-teacher > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent
08/07/2020 at 14:39

D’oh!

shop-teacher > Bylan - Hoarder of LS400's
08/07/2020 at 14:39

Many of my neighbors did the same. It’s a nice town, and I have great neighbors too.

shop-teacher > WilliamsSW
08/07/2020 at 14:40

Villa Park let itself crumble for decades to keep taxes low. Now we’re paying the price.

shop-teacher > Sovande
08/07/2020 at 14:40

Agreed. I was happy to fork over that check to get this done.

Sovande > shop-teacher
08/07/2020 at 14:49

I’m in the middle of an estimate where we have to replace some sidewalks and it is much more expensive than that!

ranwhenparked > shop-teacher
08/07/2020 at 14:50

That seems like a pretty reasonable price, even the full $3k.

This is what we'll show whenever you publish anything on Kinja: > shop-teacher
08/07/2020 at 14:54

Wow, your city has sidewalks? Mine keeps telling everyone how “world class” it is , incessantly allows new developments , suggests that everyone should be taking transit , yet half of it has nowhere to walk but in the road. And half of the students can be found in construction trailers.

World class indeed. 3rd.

glemon > shop-teacher
08/07/2020 at 15:03

No wonder it is all cracked, looks like they poured it at about 1.5" thick.

smobgirl > ttyymmnn
08/07/2020 at 15:12

We have to pay 100%. Either you do it on your own at whatever you can find bids for, or the city will replace them and bill you for the entire cost.

ttyymmnn > smobgirl
08/07/2020 at 15:19

Damn. I always thought the sidewalk and easement were their responsibility. I suppose it varies by municipality. I’ve never looked into it here.

415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) > shop-teacher
08/07/2020 at 15:24

They are replacing all the ramps in the area right now, altering curbs, also making islands in the middle of new crosswalks etc... we are curious how far this will all go.

Nom De Plume > shop-teacher
08/07/2020 at 15:37

That’s not shoveling! You were just hiding the problem from sight.

How much snow do you get on average in a storm the last few years?

Deal Killer - Powered by Focus > shop-teacher
08/07/2020 at 15:58

Shit, if the city said my neighbors and I would have to pay 1/2 the cost of re-paving my street, I think we would be seriously tempted in taking up their offer. My street doesn’t have sidewalks, and the asphalt is just a patchwork of cold-patch and deterioration. The streets just to the south of us have been repaved twice in the 20 years I’ve lived at my house. The city is placing a levee on the ballot this fall for $$$ for street repairs, but I guarantee it will fail, even though EVERYONE complains about streets and how bad they are.

facw > shop-teacher
08/07/2020 at 15:59

Not having enough money is not a good excuse. It means that the city is too cheap to maintain its infrastructure and/or it is too inefficient with the budget it has. Niether is a good thing. The bottom line is that sidewalks should be maintained better than that, so it’s a failure if they are not.

fintail > shop-teacher
08/07/2020 at 16:00

I wonder how old those were. I know the small town where my mom lives has many existing sidewalks and even some patches of low traffic residential streets dating to when the surfaces were first installed in the 1910-20 era.

shop-teacher > facw
08/07/2020 at 16:05

To be fair, it is really not the doing of the current administration in our town’s government. The down was allowed to deteriorate for decades under previous administrations, in order to keep taxes low. Things started changing not long after I moved in (10 years ago), and the town had been systematically working to repair the decades of neglect. They really are doing the best they can, and frankly they’ve been doing a decent job of it. The town is in FAR better shape than it was 6 or 7 years ago.

The real failure in the case of my sidewalks, was they lost the paperwork I submitted a while back to participate in the 50/50 program. I was planning to pay my share all along, and had the money ready and waiting for them. Thankfully when I got them on the phone, they took care of it immediately.

shop-teacher > Nom De Plume
08/07/2020 at 16:07

It’s very hit or miss. The last couple years have been pretty mild, something like 24" of snow for the year. I think it was three or four years ago that we got over 100" for the year. Most “bad” storms are in the 5-10" range, but I’ve dealt with a few 24-36" in my day.

shop-teacher > Sovande
08/07/2020 at 16:09

This is part of a VERY big contract. They’re replacing the entire road bed and curbs, as well as water lines, gas lines, and sewers. They even put a big underground reservoir in under another cross street down the block.

shop-teacher > This is what we'll show whenever you publish anything on Kinja:
08/07/2020 at 16:10

This is a rather nice town I’ve found myself in. I like it here, and plan to stay for at least 20 more years.

shop-teacher > Deal Killer - Powered by Focus
08/07/2020 at 16:11

The street was atrocious. It looked like a moonscape. This work is part of a referendum to fix the roads that we passed 5 or 6 years ago. They’re still plugging away, but the town looks a ton better than it used to.

shop-teacher > fintail
08/07/2020 at 16:13

I believe they are original, which would put them from the 19 20's-30's. We have a family that’s been here since the 50's, and they’ve never seen new sidewalks before.

shop-teacher > glemon
08/07/2020 at 16:13

Yeah, there are areas that were 4" think, but many were only an inch and a half or two.

shop-teacher > ranwhenparked
08/07/2020 at 16:14

It’s part of a very big contract to redo the entire roadbed, curbs, new sewers, etc.

fintail > shop-teacher
08/07/2020 at 17:57

Probably a fun spot for a metal detectorist when they tore up the old concrete.

shop-teacher > fintail
08/07/2020 at 19:27

One was out here when they tore up the road. I chatted him up, and let him d o my property. He found a silver Mercury dime by my birdbath.

Deal Killer - Powered by Focus > shop-teacher
08/07/2020 at 19:31

Well holy hell. If they’re taking you’re street down to the ground, Why the fuck wouldn’t they repair the sidewalks? Although, I think in Toledo, homeowners are responsible for sidewalk maintenance. Could be wrong, but I am two Scotch’s in right now.

shop-teacher > Deal Killer - Powered by Focus
08/07/2020 at 19:36

I went to college with the assistant engineer, his quote was something to the effect of, “Frankly, I’m embarrassed we had to leave it, but we were out of money.”

Its all good. I was expecting to have to pay part of it, and it’s getting done.

Deal Killer - Powered by Focus > shop-teacher
08/07/2020 at 19:51

Yeah, I think a lot of places are going to be hard pressed for $$$. Good on you for getting new walk ways. It makes a house soooo much nicer in curb appeal. One more reason I wish I could get my street re-paved.

fintail > shop-teacher
08/07/2020 at 20:08

Probably was a mint 16-D or something :)

Urambo Tauro > shop-teacher
08/07/2020 at 20:10

shop-teacher > Deal Killer - Powered by Focus
08/07/2020 at 22:13

Yeah. Unfortunately live on a corner lot, so I still have sidewalks on the other street to deal with. At least that's the shorter side.

shop-teacher > fintail
08/07/2020 at 22:16

Nah, he let me keep it.

!!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

shop-teacher > Urambo Tauro
08/07/2020 at 22:16

Agreed.

fintail > shop-teacher
08/07/2020 at 22:24

There are a handful of valuable dates/varieties.

With precious metals prices exploding due to current idiocy, melt for a “junk” silver dime is over $2 now, which is insane.

shop-teacher > fintail
08/08/2020 at 13:12

I just found the picture of it. It’s around the house somewhere now.

Kinja'd!!!

fintail > shop-teacher
08/08/2020 at 13:18

Fun. Looks like a common date in circulated condition. Still worth a couple bucks. My dad was into metal detecting, and this of thing got me going for awhile.

And maybe typical for someone who has a diecast attraction, I also had a coin collection when I was a kid, buffalo nickels and indian head pennies were a big thing, although these dimes and walking liberty half dollars also attracted me.