Maintaining City Streets with the Help of Public Works
The Public Works department is responsible for maintaining all the city-owned roads. To ensure the safety of the public, the department has implemented a proactive maintenance program that addresses issues as they arise, long before they pose a hazard. This program is financed by a road maintenance fee, which is utilized to guarantee that the roads meet regulatory criteria and community expectations. Public Works places a high priority on road quality and implements improvement strategies to improve the system’s performance, contributing to the growth and development of the community.
The Street Crew Division is responsible for the upkeep of roadways. This includes repairing potholes, installing and straightening signs, and addressing citizen requests. Additionally, the division conducts regular maintenance such as monthly street sweeping, leaf pickup, and repainting of striping, legend crosswalks, stop bars, traffic lane stripes, and no parking zones.
The Beneficial Impact of Street Sweeping on Our Waterways
Did you know that street sweeping plays a crucial role in keeping our waterways clean? By removing debris, sediment, and pollutants from the streets, it prevents these materials from entering the stormwater system and contaminating our creeks and rivers. Additionally, it helps prevent localized flooding caused by clogged drainage catch basins. As a community, we can all contribute to improving water quality by keeping our streets free of litter and debris.
Sweeping Schedule
Public Works currently sweeps the streets twice a week, every other week from January through September and every week during leaf season (October through January 1).
There are factors that prevent these schedules intermittently that include equipment needing repairs and emergency work arising.
Road & Sidewalk Management
To enhance community livability, it is essential to maintain sidewalks that are easily accessible to everyone. This also includes the proper maintenance and repair of existing city street pavements in prolonging their life. For this reason, the city conducts regular visual inspections of roadways to assess their condition and identify areas that require pavement maintenance.
City Sidewalks: Prioritizing Pedestrian Safety
Sidewalks serve a greater purpose than just being a footpath. They provide a unified aesthetic for neighborhoods and can also attract potential residents. Moreover, sidewalks can be utilized for a variety of activities, from recreational jogging to family playtime.
Sidewalks, along with street trees adjacent to residences or businesses are the responsibility of the owner of the property as per City Code.
ADA ramps are being installed on the collector streets throughout town as funding allows. 4th street recently had two corners of ADA ramps installed at the cross section of E Street. Williams and Ash also had two ADA ramps installed and once warmer temperatures come in 2024 will receive crosswalk bars as well.
Improving Transportation Routes for Your Daily Commute
Getting around the city is always easier when the streets are well-maintained and easily accessible, no matter how you choose to travel. That’s why the City of Independence is committed to improving and upgrading your transportation routes.
Public Works employees respond to pothole issues either from work orders or as seen by employees. Temporary repairs with cold patch asphalt may be utilized until there is a more permanent fix available or the area warrants having hot mix installed by a contractor.
A common misconception is that Monmouth Street as well as Main Street, north of Monmouth Street are maintained by the City. These sections of roadway are known as Highway 51 or Monmouth/Independence highway and are the responsibility of ODOT to maintain. If you have sign concerns or need to report a pothole on ODOT Highways, contact Ask ODOT staff online or call 1-888-275-6368 (1-888-ASK-ODOT) and choose option 6.
Report street light outages to Pacific Power
