Spring Break
Sloppy sidewalk repairs
Chris Walden/News Editor
Issue date: 7/19/07 Section: Opinions
Now for something completely ridiculous.
When I walk around on campus, I look down a lot. At the sidewalks. And I guess I'm watching where I'm walking. Some things catch my eye.
Like the sidewalks on campus.
We've already had an editorial written this summer about the dangerous state of Charleston sidewalks. Since then, there have been some changes. Public Works has answered the call, somewhat, to the hazards of uneven sidewalks.
These uneven sidewalk blocks are what public works calls deviations, from the shifting of concrete from their initially placed positions.
The city knows about every sidewalk deviation. There are some on campus, too, as well as in the city.
However, some of the repairs made to the sidewalks on campus, are pretty sloppy jobs. That's not to say there aren't some fine slopes on the ground, but I'm sorry - some of the repairs look like not much effort was put in. From sidewalks criss-crossing campus and those on 4th street (to name a few), some repairs look terrible.
Deviations within a city are catalogued and set in queue for repair. But that's the thing: how do you repair a drastically changed chunk of concrete?
Well, you use a sidewalk grinder, of course.
A what, you say?
Well think of it as this: it's a combination between a jackhammer and a lawnmower, and every good public works department in the country has one.
And they're just about as heavy as both a jackhammer and a lawnmower combined. A public works employee has to maneuver the nearly 80-pound mix of heavy metal parts on and off of the high-standing ledge of concrete.
Basically, the rotating metal gears grind away at the sharp edge of the sidewalk and the idea is to smooth the perpendicular edge to a sloped, ramp-like surface.
Grinding an average-sized sidewalk from side to side takes anywhere from 30 minutes to a little over an hour, depending on how high a block has risen from the ground.
When I walk around on campus, I look down a lot. At the sidewalks. And I guess I'm watching where I'm walking. Some things catch my eye.
Like the sidewalks on campus.
We've already had an editorial written this summer about the dangerous state of Charleston sidewalks. Since then, there have been some changes. Public Works has answered the call, somewhat, to the hazards of uneven sidewalks.
These uneven sidewalk blocks are what public works calls deviations, from the shifting of concrete from their initially placed positions.
The city knows about every sidewalk deviation. There are some on campus, too, as well as in the city.
However, some of the repairs made to the sidewalks on campus, are pretty sloppy jobs. That's not to say there aren't some fine slopes on the ground, but I'm sorry - some of the repairs look like not much effort was put in. From sidewalks criss-crossing campus and those on 4th street (to name a few), some repairs look terrible.
Deviations within a city are catalogued and set in queue for repair. But that's the thing: how do you repair a drastically changed chunk of concrete?
Well, you use a sidewalk grinder, of course.
A what, you say?
Well think of it as this: it's a combination between a jackhammer and a lawnmower, and every good public works department in the country has one.
And they're just about as heavy as both a jackhammer and a lawnmower combined. A public works employee has to maneuver the nearly 80-pound mix of heavy metal parts on and off of the high-standing ledge of concrete.
Basically, the rotating metal gears grind away at the sharp edge of the sidewalk and the idea is to smooth the perpendicular edge to a sloped, ramp-like surface.
Grinding an average-sized sidewalk from side to side takes anywhere from 30 minutes to a little over an hour, depending on how high a block has risen from the ground.
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Viewing Comments 1 - 3 of 5
Merrick
posted 7/20/07 @ 3:47 PM CST
Yes, the uneven sidewalks are a problem on EIU's campus. However, you have to take baby steps for repairs on EIU's campus I have learned. The first baby step would be to shovel and salt/ sand the sidewalks properly in the winter. (Continued…)
Roy Wagner
posted 7/10/08 @ 2:40 PM CST
For effective Sidewalk Grinding in a Fraction of the time you mentioned, please read the Sidewalk Repair manual that is available as a free download of a PDF file at our web site: www. (Continued…)
Hiking Student
posted 8/10/08 @ 7:15 PM CST
The sidewalks are only "dangerous" to the crowds of intoxicated idiots in matching shirts who wander them every weekend and random weekday. People like you and I and any competent individual who look where they walk are not at risk. (Continued…)
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