Crumbling sidewalks are often near the top of the list of things South Bend residents complain about to the city.
But the city has some 700 linear miles of sidewalks to monitor with limited staff. Which ones are really in the worst shape?
Traditionally the city has assigned staff, mostly interns, to walk sidewalks and inventory their condition. This year for the first time the city has hired a company to do the work.
Two staff members of Massachusetts-based Streetscan are riding the city’s sidewalks on electric scooters equipped with high-resolution cameras that capture images of the sidewalk surface. The data is then analyzed by the firm’s software and compared with the rest of the city’s sidewalks.
Streetscan Field Supervisor David Voigstberger said he and his brother Mark started about two weeks ago and have covered about 20% of the city’s sidewalks. They hope to be done by the end of September but that will depend on just how bad the sidewalks are.
“Those are some pretty rough sidewalks there that are kind of slowing us down, like the old industrial zones,” Voigtsberger said. “We’re having to go pretty slow there. We can’t really ride our scooters in many of these areas.”
The city is paying Streetscan nearly $149,000 for the work, which they expect to need performed about every five years.
Mayor James Mueller said the city hasn’t yet earmarked additional money to increase sidewalk repairs and reconstruction, but knowing where to start with repairs each year is a first step toward improving sidewalks in the city.
