Sidewalk

Press Release:

The City of Batavia is a recipient of $1,153,534 to install sidewalk connecting the Jackson Street Elementary School with Batavia Middle School.  The award comes from Governor Kathy Hochul as part of a $97.7M Federal Highway Administration’s Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP), being administered by the New York State Department of Transportation.

TAP grants promote alternative, environmentally friendly modes of travel, such as walking, biking or riding mass transit. The funding supports initiatives that improve access to the transportation system for all users and advance New York State’s nation-leading agenda to fight climate change by constructing new sidewalks, shared use paths and other enhancements that facilitate the use of non-motorized modes of travel and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

"The City of Batavia continues to plan and pursue funding for sidewalk projects that promote walkability and healthy living across the City. The $1.1M will help to make needed improvements to the sidewalks on Swan, Ross and South Jackson Street.  Keeping sidewalks maintained, especially those on school routes, is beneficial to all our residents" said Eugene Jankowski Jr, City Council President.

The City of Batavia will install over 10,000 linear feet of sidewalks on South Swan, Swan, South Jackson and Ross Streets to connect Jackson Elementary School with Batavia Middle School.

The TAP grant program provides up to $5 million in grant funding for communities to implement alternative transportation projects, funding 80% of the total project cost.  The 20% local match is typically covered by CHIPS funding received from New York State to support continual street maintenance.

Currently the project estimates are being refined but the total project cost is estimated to be $1.4 million, making the City’s local match approximately $240,000.  The City can use CHIP’s funding in addition to other City funding as part of the City’s local match.  

“The corridor slated for improvement encompasses South Swan Street, Swan Street, South Jackson Street, and Ross Street. These upgrades aim to improve safety and mobility for school children, neighborhood residents, including many seniors, and businesses along the route. The proposed project will not only enhance handicapped accessibility but also increase walkability throughout the entire corridor. Additionally, it will establish a connection to previously TAP-funded sidewalk improvement projects along Washington Avenue, near Batavia Middle School,” said Batavia City Manager Rachael Tabelski. “We would like to thank Governor Hochul and our local state representatives for making this award possible.”

With this long stretch of summer-like weather, many people are jogging and walking in Batavia. Some are tripping over sidewalks that are uneven and bowed by ever expanding tree roots and others are not able to use them at all.

The sidewalk on the east side of Fairmont and Norris was one such case: It was cracked and buckled several inches, making it difficult to walk on for most people and impossible for Marguerite Badami to push her elderly, wheelchair-bound father across.

"My father is a longtime resident of the area and I take him for walks every day," Badami said. "I always have to push him in the street because there is just no way I can get his wheelchair over that huge bump on the sidewalk."

The city is responsible for repairs to sidewalks that are inoperable and uneven, those which present walking and tripping hazards. If they cannot be patched, then the concrete has to be removed, the roots ground down and new cement poured.

Peter Corbelli and his family live in the house adjacent to the same sidewalk. We interviewed him a few days before repairs began and he said couldn't understand why the city hadn't done anything about it.

"It was in bad shape when we moved here in 1998 and it just gets worse every year," Corbelli said.

We left a message with City Manager Jason Molino on Thursday about the sidewalk problem. On Friday, he said it was scheduled for repairs this fall and that they were taking care of it.

Later that day, residents of Fairmont and Norris informed us that city construction on the sidewalk finally began.

"The city spent $500,000 in the last five years on sidewalk fixes and we're making this a priority," Molino said. "We are attacking the areas that are used the most often, then working our way out. We are getting there slowly, but surely."

Although the city is making progress, this is an ongoing project. There are thousands of trees here and many of them are silver maples, which have aggressive root systems that can cause serious damage to sidewalks and power lines.

"Batavia spends $25,000 a year on tree removal and another $5,000 on planting different species of less invasive trees," Molino said.