Public Works Subcommittee Supports Pittsfield Road Paving Requests
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The subcommittee on public works said, "Pave the roads" on Thursday.
A petition from Ward 2 Councilor Charles Kronick requesting the use of Chapter 90 funds for paving 10 roads was referred to Commissioner of Public Services and Utilities Ricardo Morales. A response is expected at the March 28 City Council meeting after speaking to Mayor Linda Tyer on the topic.
Chapter 90 funding is allocated by the state to every municipality and can be used on city or town-owned roads.
"My request is based upon the last year there was a consultation between me and the Department of Public Works, Ricardo Morales, and we came up with a list of streets and actually none of them had been fixed," Kronick said.
"And the reason why I am bringing this to the City Council is because these are streets that have been in disrepair now for almost 30 years, a lot of them, and they affect a lot of people, they affect their properties, their lives, they're turning into gravel in many cases and it is causing other issues."
The requested roads are:
- Third Street
- Delaware Avenue
- Rhode Island
- Virginia Avenue
- Tyler Street Extension
- Maryland Avenue (with curbs to direct flow to distant drains)
- Yorkshire Avenue (curbs only)
- California Avenue
- Brown Street (sections)
- Kensington Avenue
Kronick referenced a pavement condition index (PCI) that listed Maryland Avenue in the 10th poorest condition and Delaware Avenue not far behind.
"I am here because promises have been made in the past, Tyler [Street] Extension, Maryland [Avenue,] and they keep somehow getting pushed aside to future years," he said.
"I really want to make that push and see if we can get this done."
Morales explained that the city is planning an aggressive attack on potholes this year, including in Ward 2.
He said there was a non-definitive meeting about the roads with Kronick and they settled on a list of streets to be paved. Different funding was secured for Tyler Street Extension from the Winter Recovery Assistance Program (WRAP) and the bid was awarded but due to scheduling issues, the timeline was extended.
"That's going to happen much sooner than all of the other stuff," Morales explained, as the job is already under contract.
Ward 5 Councilor Patrick Kavey agreed with the poor condition of the listed streets and Ward 1 Councilor Kenneth Warren pointed out that all wards have lists of streets in poor condition.
"This is something that residents benefit by and the people who live around these streets because people use streets all the time," he said.
During his presentation of the petition, Kronick clarified that the move was not political.
"It's not a political process it's really a managerial process by which you are responsible for your ward and you sort of get the right feel for what needs to be done so you can keep your ward up in shape so all the wards are rising properly in quality," he said.
Ward 3 Councilor Kevin Sherman thanked Kronick for bringing this forward, agreeing that it is managerial, not political, but cautioned against using this format to get streets paved.
He said the city has a pie to share and all of the streets should be done equitably.
"This is not the forum to hash this out or else we'll have Hatfields and McCoys running throughout the city of Pittsfield and we'd prefer not to have that," he said, referring to a historical feud between two American families.
During the open microphone, a handful of Ward 2 residents spoke in favor of the petition.
Delaware Avenue resident Michael Barosso said there is a sinkhole on his street and constant plowing issues. He also pointed to a raised manhole cover and said the area has been ignored for too long.
"In the 29 years I have been there, I have never seen a resurfacing of that road," Delaware Avenue resident David Turner said, also pointing to the sinkhole and raised manhole cover.
A 44-year Maryland Avenue resident said the street has not been repaved since 1980 and that some of the roads aren't repairable with pothole filling because of the level of disrepair.
Tags: road work,
