The Streets And Sidewalks Of Hermann - A Five Day Engineering Survey

Published by Jimmy Oldsun, NDRIRSRWRAFTC & Editor

I walk a lot.  I walk anywhere from three (3) to eight (8) miles every day of the week.  I walk for physical exercise.  I also walk to reflect and think about things.  And I do most of my walking in the City of Hermann.

When I'm walking, I make a lot of observations about my physical surroundings.  One of the things I can't help but observe is the woeful condition of Hermann's city streets and sidewalks.  The thing about it is I almost failed to observe how bad they are.  I've been walking for a long time, and all of this just dawned upon me very recently.  You see, I grew up in this small town before I went away to school at Mizzou.  The streets were in bad condition back then.  And the sidewalks were in bad condition back then.  That's why I almost didn't observe how bad they still are during my daily walks.  I guess we kind of get used to our surroundings and just stop observing things about them.

For as long as I can remember, the streets and sidewalks in Hermann have been poorly maintained, if they have been maintained at all.  When I think about it now, I can still remember my father complaining about the poorly maintained streets and sidewalks of Hermann.  Back then, of course, he owned and operated the local sand and gravel dredging business.  Maybe he just had a vested financial interest in the condition of the streets and sidewalks, because he wanted to sell the City of Hermann more sand for concrete and asphalt?

But I digress.  The point of this posting is to announce to you that I am beginning a 5-day survey of the Hermann streets and sidewalks today.  In the next five (5) days, I plan to walk somewhere between twenty (20) and thirty (30) miles of Hermann's city streets and sidewalks.  I will document the current condition of the streets and sidewalks, and I will objectively and without bias report my findings to you and anyone on the Hermann Board of Aldermen who might be interested.

On my first day of walking (Monday, 5/10), I found the following conditions:

1. 16th Street heading east from Jefferson Street to Hwy. 100 - No sidewalks.  Asphaltic street surface in good condition.  Street surface well sealed.
2. 16th Street heading east from Hwy. 100 to Washington Street - No sidewalks.  Concrete paved street with concrete curbs and gutter.  Good condition.  Fine cracks at street surface due to uneven settling of concrete slabs.
3. Washington Street heading north from 16th Street to 15th Street - No sidewalks.  Street surface fair.  Some patching.  Some "alligatoring" (fine cracks in a pattern of alligator scales).
4. Washington Street heading north from 15th Street to Hwy. 100/14th Street - No sidewalks.  Street surface poor.  Alligatoring, patches and uneven surface in spots. Water washing under Washington St. at city utilities easement.  Parking restricted.  Street surface caving in.  Reported by resident last December.
5. Washington Street heading north from Hwy. 100 to Goethe Street - No sidewalks.  Street surface fair, even and sealed pretty well.
6. Washington Street heading north from  Goethe St. to 12th Street - No sidewalks.  Street surface fair, even and sealed pretty well.
7. Washington Street heading north from 12th Street to Stark Blvd. - Sidewalk on west side of street.  Sidewalk condition fair.  Street surface uneven and patches numerous.  Surface sealed fairly well.
8. Washington Street heading north from Stark Blvd. to 10th Street - Sidewalk on west side of street.  Sidewalk condition fair (but broken up in spots).  Street surface fair and sealed pretty well.
9. Washington Street heading north from 10th Street to 9th Street - Sidewalk on west side of street.  Sidewalk condition fair although broken up in spots.  Street surface fair and sealed pretty well.
10. Washington Street heading north from 9th Street to 8th Street - Sidewalk on west side of street.  Sidewalk condition good.  Street surface fair and sealed pretty well. 
11. Washington Street heading north from 8th Street to 7th Street - Sidewalk on west side of street.  Sidewalk condition poor and path offset.  Street surface fair and sealed pretty well.
12. Washington Street heading north from7th Street to 6th Street - Sidewalk on west side of street.  Sidwalk condition very poor and irregular.  Street surface fair and sealed pretty well.
13. 6th Street heading east from Washington Street to Mozart Street - Sidewalks on both north and south sides of street.  Sidewalk condition on north side is good.  Sidewalk condition on south side is fair.  Street surface is fair to good, and the surface is sealed pretty well.
14. 6th Street heading east from Mozart Street to Market Street - Sidewalks on both north and south sides of street. Sidewalk condition is fair for the most part.  Rock from Peoples Savings Bank has washed onto sidewalk.  Street surface is fair to good, and the surface is sealed pretty well.
15. Market Street heading north from 6th Street to 5th Street - Sidewalks on both east and west sides of street.  Sidewalk condition is good in front of the Bay-Hermann-Berger Bank, but only fair on the west side between the corner and the alley just south of the BP Convenienc Store.  Market Street is in good conditon with a smooth, sealed surface.
16. Market Street heading north from 5th Street to 4th Street - Sidewalks on both east and west sides of street.  Sidewalk condition generall fair to good on both sides of the street.  Market Street is in good conditon with a smooth, sealed surface.

More on this subject tomorrow.

Jimmy Oldsun
NDRIRSRWRAFTC & Editor
www.hermannhearsay.blogspot.com

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