Kent’s City Engineer says the question he gets more than any other is “when will my street get fixed?”

Keep in mind that stretched end-to-end the City of Kent’s street network would run from downtown Kent to Morgantown West Virginia — that’s a lot of mileage to keep maintained and a lot of dollars needed to do it.

Under Jim’s leadership and Council’s support, the City has doubled the amount of funding dedicated to street repairs and while the turn around is slow, we’ve started to see Kent’s street condition rebound in a positive direction.

In October, Council approved a little extra paving on Mogadore Road in partnership with Portage County (south of SR261) — and Jim has lined up state funding for another segment of Mogadore Road (north of SR261 to Cherry Street) next year — and he’s working with the Ohio Department of Transportation to accelerate the repaving of SR59 in Kent in the next couple of years to go along with his plans to repave a few residential streets in Kent each year.

Jim will discuss street conditions in Kent during his November presentation to City Council summarizing the capital projects of 2018 but in the meantime, here’s his quick reply to his most common question.

At some point most of us have said (or thought), when will My Street get fixed!

It’s a question we get on a regular basis and it is always a valid question. With 196 lane miles of street in the City of Kent, the streets are our single largest asset. But while being our largest asset, they are also our largest liability. Being the largest liability, the streets use more of the City’s capital resources than any other City asset. Therefore, prioritizing these resources is key to successfully maintaining our streets.

The following are some of the key variables used in deciding which streets get fixed first.

Worst First…..
Since 2002, every 2 to 3 years we hire an outside firm to impartially rate the condition of our streets. The ratings are based on a national standard ratings system with each street block given a rating from 0 to 100. A rating of zero would be for a completely failed street and 100 for a newly paved street. Overall, our street network has seen modest improvement since its low point in 2009. This reflects the prioritization of the streets and sidewalks by City Council over that time period. Our staff uses these ratings as the 1st step in prioritizing which streets get paved.

Maintenance Matters…..
By and far the most cost effective way to keep our streets in good condition is to perform preventative maintenance. Therefore, some amount of the street funding is set aside to perform annual preventative maintenance on our streets. This includes things like pot hole filling, pavement repairs, crack seal and seal coat to name a few. These repairs typically happen quickly and many times aren’t noticed until they are done.

“Show Me the Money”…..
The funding of our streets do not come from the City tax payers alone. There are several other avenues (no pun intended) that fund the repair of our streets. As an example, we all pay federal and state gas taxes when we fill up at the pump. These taxes and other funding sources are used to complete work on our most traveled streets. This not only includes the State Routes (43, 59 and 261), but others like Summit Street, Middlebury Road and Mogadore Road to name a few. So when we can get access to those additional funds we take advantage of them, making our dollar go farther.

So the next time you wonder when will _________ Street get fixed, consider the above factors as it pertains to your street. 

Also, I encourage you to call us at 330-678-8106 and we’ll let you know how the street fits into the above factors and let you know what’s in store for your street.

Before the City rolls-in to a neighborhood with the asphalt milling and paving machines, the Engineering Department will check the condition of the curbs, gutters and sidewalks on those streets to schedule those repairs in advance of the street repairs.

The idea is that streets, curbs, gutters, and sidewalks all work together to ensure safe driving, safe walking, and proper stormwater collection — so if you’re going to fix one, you need to make sure the rest of the team is in decent working condition as well.  Plus, if you’re going to be in the neighborhood fixing stuff, let’s fix as much as we can while we’re there.

The City picks up the tab on the asphalt and a fair amount of the concrete work too, but the concrete work requires a little more house by house analysis to comply with the City Code which has a range of scenarios that split the concrete costs with the property owner.

Typically the City Engineers will try to coordinate the concrete work the season before the asphalt work is scheduled to be done.  As they make their rounds, they take notes on what needs to be repaired, they figure out how much the job will cost, and then refer to the City Code to calculate how much the City will pay and how much the homeowner is expected to pay.

Once they’ve run those calculations, Engineering then mails letters to the effected homeowners to let them know the plan and to give them a first look at their projected cost.

The homeowner may have options available to reduce their costs — example, if the house is owner occupied, City Council has authorized a 50% reduction in the homeowner’s share of the bill, and if the owner can demonstrate that they fall into a “low to moderate income” category, City Council has authorized Engineering to pick up 100% of the costs.

Also, if they’re handy, homeowners can also save some money by doing the concrete repair work themselves or they may use a contractor of their choice.

The idea is to provide options for homeowners who would love to have the repair work done but may not necessarily have budgeted for the repairs.

Right now Engineering has mailed letters out to the next round of homeowners in line for concrete repairs so I thought it was a good time to review the process.

If anyone is uncertain of what to do, the best bet is to contact Pat Homin, City Engineering Technician, to talk through the options with him in person.  His number is (330) 678-8106.