Three streets in Maplewood that badly needed repaving are having that done this summer, but are behind schedule.
Martini Drive, Gerhard and Oakland avenues, and the intersection of Lohmeyer and Bredell avenues are scheduled for the work this summer, according to Maplewood assistant city manager/director of public works, Anthony Traxler, but all are behind schedule.
He said the schedule called for completion before school starts, which should be met, but all roads are taking longer than hoped, due to the historic rainfall in June, “which essentially wiped out any activity we could do in June.”
Roads are accessed by an independent organization and rated on a scale of something like 1-5. The timeliness of the repair also has to do with the amount of road needing to be paved. For example, Yale may have been rated a 4 for a while but they didn’t do it immediately because of the scale of the project. Side walks on the other hand are more complaint driven. If Mr. Traxler gets enough complaints on one, he is likely to focus his attention there.
How does the city of Maplewood decide which streets to repave? How much money is being invested into the infrastructure of our city?
Great question Dave. The city can provide that info to you I am sure. I have lived in Maplewood since ’98, and love it here. I have often wondered, however, why it is taking so long to get so many of our streets up to par. I am as busy as anyone, a possible excuse I suppose, but I have never really dug into the facts. I am making a pretty safe assumption that our city coffers are in much better shape than 10 or 15 years ago. Perhaps it is partially our responsibility as citizens to elevate the importance and priority of nice streets, curbs and sidewalks. Every time I see the sign for “Bike St. Louis” signs giving riders direction to ride on Sussex in the Greenwood subdivision I cringe, they need knobby tires to traverse that street. If any city employees see this and want to reply to Dave’s and my inquiry, please do.
I was all for repaving our streets until I started to see them tearing down the majority of our mature streetscape trees in the process. Now I’m not so sure whether or not I prefer bumpy, tree lined streets or a treeless but smooth driving experience in Maplewood. The powers that be in city hall think they are mutually exclusive for some reason, even though neighboring communities like Richmond Heights find a way to save their trees.