Staff Writer

ONEONTA — Sections of sidewalk on six city streets have been targeted for replacement as part of this year's sidewalk schedule.

Oneonta city officials will seek bids this week on the 2003 replacement schedule, which was approved by aldermen last week.

Below is the proposed improvement plan:

• Gilbert Street — West side, between 22 and 39 Gilbert.

• Norton Avenue — North side, between 3rd and 4th streets.

• Elm Street — East side, between Center and Spruce streets.

• Spring Street — West Side, between Chestnut and Grove streets.

• Brook Street — West side, between Center and Weidman streets.

• West Street — East Side, between Cherry and Columbia streets.

This year, the city has budgeted $62,000 in its operating fund for sidewalk replacement. Another $20,000 to $30,000 in Community Development funding will augment the budgeted amount, Fourth Ward Alderman Keith Bott said.

Joseph Bernier, city engineering administrator, said the city usually spends between $90,000 and $120,000 a year on sidewalk replacement. He estimated this year's cost will be about $100,000.

Budget constraints, including facing the rising cost of pension payments, could put a crimp in the overall sidewalk budget, said Bott, who chairs the Facilities and Capital Improvements Committee.

"This is a tough year," Bott said, adding that a great deal of the city's Community Development funding is already going toward the Water Street improvement project.

This year's alternate list for sidewalk replacement includes miscellaneous sections of sidewalk at several intersections along Main Street.

One of those sections involves replacing sidewalk at the corner of Main and Market streets. Another is at the corner of Main and Chestnut Street Extension.

"These are high traffic areas where a utility pole, or maybe a tree is pushing up the walk," Bernier said, adding that some of these sections also need to be made accessible for handicapped people.

The sections of sidewalk on the alternate bid list will be taken care of if there is enough money left over from the priority list budget, Bernier said.

Traffic flow and proximity to schools are two factors that are considered when sidewalk replacement is considered, Bernier said.

Politics did not enter into this year's picks for sidewalk construction, Bott said, noting that all of the streets on the list were already targeted by the city's engineering department as priorities for replacement.

The proposed replacement of sidewalk on Spring Street comes a couple of years after residents complained at a Common Council meeting about the condition of their street.

Annie Hubbard, who lives at 15 Spring St., said it's about time the city did something to fix the "broken, heaving" sections of walkway near her home.

"It's in terrible shape, just terrible," Hubbard said. "I took a bad fall on them a couple of summers ago. We have several elderly residents down in this area and I'm concerned for their safety."

The condition of sidewalks on Irving Place in Oneonta's Third Ward has also been called to the attention of city officials over the years by residents.

Bott said sidewalks on the street are being considered for an asphalt overlay, but nothing is definite.

In 2001, residents circulated at least two petitions about Irving Place's crumbling sidewalks, which city officials said hadn't been attended to in more than 25 years.

The street's walks have not been chosen from the list yet because the whole street, not just the sidewalks, needs work.

Twenty sections of sidewalk on 11 different streets were replaced as part of last year's program. That schedule, called "fillers," involved replacing small sections of walk rather than entire blocks.

This year's schedule represents the replacement of both smaller sections and larger ones, Bernier said.

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Jill Fahy can be reached at jfahy@thedailystar.com or (607) 441-7221