COVINGTON, KY – Last week, the City of Covington took proactive measures to improve the safety of its citizens and began replacing deteriorated sidewalk sections along streets north of 26th Street. This is the second phase in the City’s overall sidewalk replacement program.
In late 2015, the City hired a firm to complete an extensive survey of the sidewalk conditions along the priority sidewalk corridors (please
click here to view Covington priority sidewalk corridors map). The damaged sidewalk segments were broken into two categories; trip hazard or replacement.
Earlier this year, all of the trip hazards were removed using concrete grinding. The second phase of this work will replace the sidewalk segments in which it was determined complete replacement was necessary.
Development Director/City Engineer Mike Yeager stated, “We are very excited to get the sidewalk work going in the northern part of the City.
“City staff and the Mayor and Commissioners have put a lot of work into coming up with this strategic approach toward improving the conditions of the most heavily traveled sidewalks. The strategy has allowed us to stretch the funds that were allocated for these projects into additional areas and therefore have a much larger impact."
The City spent an initial $140,000 of its capital bond funds removing trip hazards greater than three-fourths inch on city sidewalks, in compliance with Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards. An additional $1.35 million of capital funds has been allocated to replace any sidewalks that are in need of repair beyond the trip hazard removal process on these same corridors.
The sidewalk work is part of a multi-year, City-wide replacement program based on an inventory identifying sidewalks that were 25 percent deteriorated or worse. The first phase began in 2013 with almost $2.5 million of sidewalk replacement in South Covington and Latonia.
City Manager Larry Klein stated, “The City strives to create a more walkable community that is inviting and a safe pedestrian experience along these heavily traveled corridors. Our citizens’ safety is our first priority. Through these repairs, we’re continuing to take proactive measures to make a more walkable community, improve property values, and to improve the overall safety of Covington.”