Back in 2007 I had a thread here ranting about the city tearing up our streets for over a year, costing us $$$$ and screwing up the look of the neighborhood.
Before the city started, our lawns met the street. There were no curbs or gutters. The city engineer had drawn up plans to have curbs and gutters, which the majority of residents didn't want.
I argued with him for the better part of an hour. His engineers had told me that simply repaving the street was an option. He said his guys were wrong, and that the street had to be dug up all the way down to the sewer mains, the sewer mains replaced, and a new street constructed.
On the curbs and gutters issue, he said they were necessary to drain away excess water that could get under the pavement and, in the winter when there's freeze and thaw cycles, cause the pavement to heave and crack. This, he said, would mean having to repave the street every five to seven years.
I told him that the street hadn't been repaved in 35 years and it looked good.
As with most projects where public comment is invited, this one was already settled before we were asked to comment. The curbs and gutters went in, causing the neighborhood to lose its park-like setting, and also reducing the width of the street, which meant parking on one side only.
I drove down the street last week. The pavement is heaved up all over the place, and there's big cracks in the asphalt. The street needs to be repaved.
