Wet Spring Paves Way for New Streets

At the intersection of East University and North Edison is the silver lining of the past spring's storms. After severe flooding in May rendered gravel segments of the two streets impassable, the sections were paved last week by the city.

“Look how beautiful it looks,” said Jeanne Williams, whose house fronts North Edison. “The neighborhood is thrilled with the new roads.

"Last spring, my neighbor couldn’t get his car in his garage because the road was flooded so badly.”

For Williams, getting those gravel sections paved has taken nearly nine years of gentle pushing, trying to get neighbors to do something about the former gravel roads and poor drainage.

When new neighbors moved into a house across the street from her in 2009, Williams saw an opportunity.

“I gave them six months before I approached them,” she said. “I wanted them to settle in and see what it was like.”

Williams said the roads were always icy in the winter and flooded easily when it rained.

The May storms finally helped Williams make her case.

With the right people on board, the neighbors worked with interim City Engineer Matthew Callahan to come up with a solution. Williams said Callahan guided the neighbors through the process, which included getting property owners to agree to a special assessment and getting the City Commission to approve it.

Callahan “did a phenomenal job of problem-solving,” Williams said.

The city surveyed the area, determined the shape of the new sections of pavement and looked at the drainage. Plans were prepared that included new sewers. When the project is complete, neighbors will also enjoy new landscaping and two new trees, one on East University and one on North Edison.

“We removed a tree during construction,” Callahan said. “The city has to put in two new trees for every one we cut.”

Callahan said the project, including surveying, engineering and construction, had a price tag of approximately $58,000. The cost will be divided between four property owners adjacent to the new roads by a special assessment, which the residents will pay for over a 15-year period.

Williams said the cost to the homeowers is worth it because the removal of the large tree and the lighter color of pavement, versus the dark gravel, have made the street brighter.

“It has made the neighborhood feel safer. There is more light now, and the roads are finally accessible,” she said. “It has also improved problems we had with mosquitoes.”

Williams said she can’t wait until the construction is complete and neighborhood children can ride their bikes on the new section of East University that dead-ends into the .

“The kids are going to have fun,” she said.