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Memo Alley Upgrading Program , CITY OF HOPKINS MEMORANDUM DATE: February 5, 1992 TO: Mayor and city Council ~ FROM: Lee Gustafson, Public Works Director SUBJECT: Alley Upgrading Program As a part of the City's Capital Improvement Program, there has been typically $20,000 allocated as the city's share for the upgrading of alleys. There has not, however, ever been a program designed to accomplish this with the exception of a petition being submitted for an alley upgrading. Staff would like to discuss such a program with council that could be designed to upgrade approximately 3 alleys per year for the next 8 years. The main obstacle to the program would be that the alley improvements would be initiated by the City, thereby requiring a 4/5 vote by Council. Staff would therefore like to see if Council generally approves of such a program before spending any more time on it. The City presently has 26 gravel or bituminous alleys throughout the town. These alleys, as shown on the attached map, were rated in 1989 with respect to both condition and use on a scale from 0 to 7. Please refer to the attached alley survey. The alleys with the highest total score generally had the greatest need to be upgraded. Staff has recently taken this survey, and developed a "Schedule of Improvements" as shown on the attached map. The schedule is basically a mini-C.I.P. indicating the year a certain alley is scheduled for upgrading. Staff would like to use this schedule of improvements as the basis of an alley paving program that would be designed to improve the alleys with the worst condition and the highest usage first. The best alleys with the lowest usage would therefore be upgraded last unless a petition was submitted to upgrade them. ,. One of the main reasons staff would like to see these alleys upgraded to concrete is that gravel and bituminous alleys usually require far more maintenance than a concrete alley. Unfortunately these alleys were not originally designed to carry the heavy loads that a concrete pavement can handle, and therefore generally break up much faster than a pavement such as concrete. Drainage is another problem that would be improved if these alleys were upgraded to concrete. As we know, concrete alleys have inverted crowns, "V" design, that are intended to collect the water in the middle of the alley, and carry it to an intersecting street or catch basin. Bituminous or gravel alleys cannot be constructed this way which is why they generally have poor drainage characteristics. Anytime a street or alley has poor drainage it usually deteriorates at a faster rate due to the underlying soil becoming wet and not providing a solid base for the pavement. This 'deterioration problem is then magnified when you have bituminous pavements not designed for heavy loads, such as our alleys, installed in poor drainage conditions. staff would like Council to strongly consider implementing an alley paving program as described above. The program would not only reduce the additional time and money it takes to maintain these other alleys, it would also improve the overall general appearance of our city. .. . THE CITY OF HOPKINS, MINNESOTA HENNEPIN COUNTY SCALE 800' 0 800 1600' - - I , , t I ---.-_.- I --------- I I t ,,,.."u. {$ .... SCHEDULE OF IMPROVEMENTS 1992 20, 23, 24 1993 5, 6, 25 1994 16, 17, 21, 22 1995 1, 2, 3, 4, 9 1996 11, 12, 13, 14, 26 1997 7, 8, 15 1998 10, 18, 19 .",., 11,.....1'" ALLEY IMPROVEMENTS "" . ALLEY SURVEY october 1989 criteria: Condition o = Good 7 = Poor Use o = Low 7 = High Location Surface Condition Use Total 1. Between 4th st. Nand Bituminous 6 3 9 North Service Road - Between 12th & 13th Ave. N 2. Between 3rd & 4th st. N Bituminous 3 3 6 Between 12th & 13th Ave. N 3. Between 3rd st. Nand Bituminous 4 3 7 RR R.O.W - Between 12th & 13th Ave. N 4. Between 2nd st. N & end - Grass - - - Between 11th & 12th Ave. N 5. Between 2nd & 3rd st. N Bituminous 6 3 9 Between 9th '& 10th Ave. N 6. Between 2nd st. N & RR Bituminous 5 4 9 R.O.W. Between 9th & 10th Ave. N 7. Between 1st st. N & Main Bituminous 5 6 11 Between 11th & 12th Ave. N 8. Between 11th & 12th Ave. N Bituminous 6 7 13 & north of Main 9. Between 13th & 14th Ave. N Grass 7 1 8 & south of 3rd Ave. N 10. Between 17th & 18th Ave. N Bituminous 2 3 *5 Between 1st and 2nd st. N 11. Between 17th & 18th Ave. N Bituminous 6 6 12 & north of Main 12. Between 18th & 19th Ave. N Bituminous 5 7 12 & north of Main 13. Between 19th & 20th Ave. N Bituminous 7 6 13 & north of Main . ,- Alley Survey October 1989 Page 2 Location Surface Condition Use Total 14. Between 20th Ave. N Bituminous 7 6 13 & Shady Oak Road & north of Main 15. Between 8th & 9th Ave. N - Bituminous 5 7 12 Between 1st st. N & Main , N & Main - Bituminous 16. Between 1st st. 7 6 13 Between 6th & 7th Ave. N 17. Betwe~n 1st st. N & Main - Bituminous 7 5 12 Between 7th & 8th Ave. N 18. Between 1st & 2nd st. S - Bituminous 7 5 12 Between 12th & 13th Ave. S 19. Between 12th & 13th Ave. S Gravel 7 7 14 & south of Main 20. Between 10th & 11th Ave. s- Gravel 7 4 11 Between 6th st. S & 9 Mile Creek 21- Between 6th & 7th Ave. S - Bituminous 6 6 12 Between 1st st. S & Main 22. Between 6th & 7th Ave. S & Bituminous 3 6 9 north of 2nd st. S 23. Between Monroe & Jackson - Bit/Gravel 7 7 14 Between 2nd st. N and 1st st. N 24. Between 7th & 8th st. S - Bituminous 6 6 12 Between 5th & 6th Ave. S 25. Between 2nd & 3rd st. N Bituminous 3 3 6 Between 5th & 6th Ave. N 26. Between Shady Oak Rd & Bituminous 2 7 9 City Limits - North of Bradford Road *Needs seal coating 1991 G/JG01212A I . ~ CITY OF HOPKINS MEMORANDUM DATE: February 4, 1992 TO: Mayor and city Council ~ FROM: Lee Gustafson, Public Works Director ~ SUBJECT: Concept Approval for Sidewalk Repair and Maintenance Policy Staff's intent for scheduling this agenda item was to have council review the concept of adopting a sidewalk repair and maintenance policy that would provide a means to systematically inspect all public sidewalks. The most important feature of this policy would be the city initiating the project, instead of a petition, and the Council subsequently being required to order the improvement by a 4/5 vote. If Council finds the concept to be acceptable staff would intend to bring the policy back to the Council for formal adoption and hopefully implement it in 1992. The need to have a sidewalk repair policy stems from the fact that the city has an ordinance requiring property owners to perform maintenance on their adjacent sidewalks when they become in disrepair. Furthermore, if an injury occurs on a sidewalk in disrepair, the city is usually named in the suit for not enforcing their ordinance or for not addressing a general nuisance. A sidewalk repair policy, if properly established, helps to solve both of these problems. Many metro cities have found sidewalk repair polices to be an effective means of addressing their aging sidewalks. Their reasoning for a policy also reflects the concept that sidewalks are another piece of the city's overall infrastructure system that requires systematic maintenance as the other components do. These cities have found that a systematic policy is usually better than a random repair policy because the residents know what to expect each year, and it is more effective in reducing the city's liability. '\ staff strongly feels that the city of Hopkins needs a sidewalk repair policy for all of the reasons mentioned above. staff would like council to consider adopting the attached policy that would basically divide the city into four repair zones. Each zone would be inspected once every four years to determine which sidewalks needed to be repaired. The property owners would then be notified that they have the choice to repair the sidewalks themselves I or have the city repair the sidewalks using a general contractor. The sidewalks repaired by the city's contractor would be assessed out using the city's assessment policy. other segments of the policy that need to be pointed out are as follows: o The policy has a procedure for random sidewalk complaints as well as the yearly inspections. o The property owners would only be assessed for sidewalk adj acent to their property, and not sidewalk corners and pedestrian ramps. The city would be required to pay for these areas using general maintenance funds. o Sidewalks determined to be in disrepair would be declared as such using guidelines set forth in section 5.01 of the policy. As mentioned above, if Council finds the policy to be acceptable, staff would intend to implement it during the summer of 1992. This process would first include notifying the neighborhood organizations of this proposed policy and allow a few weeks for them to respond. Secondly, bring the policy back to the Council for formal adoption followed by an article in the Highlights with the sidewalk repair map explaining the program. ~ ^., J , SIDEWALK REPAIR AND MAINTENANCE 1. PURPOSE 1.01 The purpose of this policy is to ensure that all sidewalks along the streets in the City of Hopkins are kept and maintained in a safe condition for use by the public. 2. GENERAL 2.01 This policy relates to repairs of sidewalks as outlined in Section 820.07 of the Hopkins city Code. The repair of sidewalks outlined in this section are eligible to be assessed under authorization of Minnesota State Statues Chapter 429. 3. POLICY 3.01 It shall be the policy of the city to inspect sidewalks along city streets once every four years in accordance with the zones described in Attachment "A" of this policy. Following sidewalk inspection, recommendations for repair will be made to the City Engineer. 3.02 Sidewalks shall be repaired in accordance with Minnesota Department of Transportation Standard Specifications for Construction, 1988 Edition, section 2521. 4. RESPONSIBILITY 4.01 It shall be the responsibility of the City Engineering division to perform sidewalk inspections on all such sidewalks designated for inspection during each given year. The City Engineering division shall keep signed and dated inspection records indicating areas inspected, problems discovered and recommendations to the City Engineer. 4.02 Any sidewalk repair recommendation approved by the City Engineer shall be repaired by and at the expense of the owner of the premise abutting the defective sidewalk. On street corners, repair of sidewalk panels which are bounded by the extension of the property lines and the street, but not directly adjacent to the property, will be paid by the city. 5. PROCEDURES 5.01 By reason of the fact that the following sidewalk conditions endanger life, limb, and property, they are hereby declared to be nuisances, to wit a) Any crack fissure, 1/2 inch or greater raise between panels, hump, uneveness or condition therein of such width, . , Legislative Policy Manual Page 2 height, depth or form that pedestrians lawfully using such walk might catch their shoes, feet, canes, crutches or other proper implements thereon or therein; or which might cause pedestrians using such walk to trip, stumble, or fall; or which endanger the use of such walks for travel with wheelchairs, perambulators or similar conveyances. b) Sags or depressions which are considered hazardous by the City Engineer. c) Accumul~tions of sod, vegetation or other materials creating hazardous conditions on such sidewalks, and any such accumulations extending more than three (3) inches over the edge of the sidewalk. d) Water service valve covers on the sidewalk which are not flush with the walk. Any such conditions noted during a sidewalk inspection or otherwise observed by city employees will be recommended for repair to the city Engineer. 5.02 Complaints regarding sidewalks shall be recorded by city personnel and permanently filed. Following receipt of a complaint, the city Engineering division will inspect the problem area and determine if repairs are necessary under this policy. Such repairs will then be recommended by the City Engineer. 5.03 If the city Engineer finds that any sidewalk abutting private property is unsafe and in need of repairs, he/she shall cause notice to be served ordering the owner of the property to correct the condition causing the nuisance within 20 days of receipt of notice. The notice will also state that if the repairs are not made within the specified time, the city will complete the repairs at the owners expense, and if unpaid it will be made a special assessment against the property. 5.04 If such sidewalk is not repaired within the specified time, or if proof cannot be shown that a contract has been signed to have the repairs completed, the city will cause the repairs to be completed at the owners of such premise expense and will cause the expense thereof to be assessed against the premise in accordance with Section 820.07, subd 3. of the Hopkins City Code. < . , . THE CITY OF MINNETONKA HOPKINS, MINNESOTA HENNEPIN COUNTY SCALE 800' 0 800 1600. _ _ r , , ] .~",~, t . .---' ] . ."......=::! ,. 1 'M'''.''. ~ $ OAj(~:T~IOG( Dill ~. ", . , ,,,....,. EDINA ;$ M.. SCHEDULE OF IMPROVEMENTS 1 1992 2 1993 3 1994 4 1995 l'''..U.. I .",. r MINN(TONKA ."_$-..'. $ SIDEWALK REPAIR ZONES