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The Street Resurfacing Program:
The Purpose of this Program: The purpose of the resurfacing program is to maintain the Township’s street system of 46 miles of roads. The goal is to have a reliable infrastructure to facilitate public safety, commerce and public convenience. A good maintenance program helps to avoid full reconstruction costs at a later time. Our system consists of 46 miles of asphalt streets. The Township’s resurfacing plan averages between 2 to 3 miles of street rehabilitation per year.
Pothole Repair: A pothole occurs when there is a small failure in the road surface, and if left unattended, it will start to degrade the road surface. Pothole patching is a year round activity which is performed by the Public Works Department. The Director of Public Works is responsible for handling pothole patching complaints and requests that are received in their respective areas. Public Works asphalt crew performs the work. Public Works purchases asphalt for Hot Patching in warm weather. In cold weather, patching in the winter months, when production of Hot Mix Asphalt is not possible, Public Works uses cold patch for pothole patching.
The Milling Process: Milling is the process where the old existing road surface is removed by machine to expose the road base. A contractor working for the Township performs milling. The old material is ground in small chunks by the machine and stockpiled by the Department of Public Works at various locations. This material (called reclaim) is used when needed as road base material. The Township of South Park presently Roto-mills 80% to 90% of its roadway surfaces prior to hot mix paving. There are three reasons for milling a street prior to hot mix paving. 1) Curb Reveal: Reveals more of the curb line, giving a greater curb services along the road, which improves drainage and prevents flooding; 2) Removal of deteriorated asphalt; 3) Surface Leveling: This helps create uniformity along the paving surface, which gives a smoother riding surface when hot mix paving is complete. The milling process is also used for road surface profiling to eliminate washboard surfaces, which result from folds in the road surface. This creates a more even riding surface. Milling accounts for approximately 15% of the program.
Paving Evaluation: Each year a number of requests are submitted to have streets evaluated for repaving. These requests come from the general public, various Township officials, Township Council members, and Department of Public Works Maintenance Division Supervisors. During the off-season (late fall and winter), Public Works personnel evaluate each request for paving to establish the paving list for the upcoming season. The Township also utilizes a pavement management system for street evaluations. Prior to paving, ”No Parking” signs are posted on the street by a Township crew 24 hours in advance to give due notice to the residents for clearing all vehicles from the street work sites. We ask the residents to comply with this ”No Parking”.
Snow and Ice Control Program:
Goals of the Program: The goal of the snow and ice control program is to keep vehicular traffic moving on South Park Township’s 46 miles of streets during and following snowstorms. To accomplish this goal, Public Works’ fleet is equipped with plows and computerized salt spreaders. Personnel are continually trained in the use of snow removal and salting equipment to ensure high efficiency. Our goals are to meet Public Safety Needs, maintain passable roadways to hospitals, schools, fire and police stations and ensure access to large and small businesses. The Department of Public Works divides the Township of South Park into six (6) snow route areas for service. In each route, the streets are classified into one of two categories - Primary and Secondary.
1. Primary Routes: Primary routes are main business arteries that provide access to hospitals,
schools, police and fire stations. Primary routes are salted first and continue
to receive salt treatment as required in order to maintain traffic flow.
2. Secondary Routes: Secondary routes are residential areas. Secondary Routes are salted after the
Primary system has been completely salted and plowed. Exceptions are made
in the event of extreme situations such as fires and medical emergencies.
Managing the Township’s Storm Water Infrastructure:
Responsibilities: Although our responsibility for managing South Park Township’s storm water system is probably less recognized than our Snow and Ice Control Program, storm water management is an important service we provide for flood control, as well as environmental protection. We maintain and clean the Township’s 1157 storm water inlets, as well as miles of storm sewers to minimize flooding, environmentally harmful runoff, and traffic dangers. Learn more about Storm Water Management here.
Managing the Township’s Sanitary Sewer Infrastructure:
Competitive Rates: We are providing safe water treatment for residents waste water here in the Township, protecting the region’s water resources, serving our customers with quality that has been a commitment of South Park Township for nearly 50 years. And we are providing these services at a competitive price! Compared to other water and sewer utilities around the region, South Park Township is proud to offer competitive sewer rates.
Maintaining the Parks and Sports Facilities:
The Public Works Department maintains the following Parks:
1. Evans Park - consisting of seven (7) baseball fields and two (2) soccer fields, one (1) playground, two (2) shelters and two (2) refreshment stands.
2. Highland Park - consisting of one (1) basketball court, one (1) playground and a picnic shelter.
3. Grove Park - consisting one (1) playground area and a picnic shelter.
4. Whitewood Park - consisting of one (1) playground area with swings.
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