Do I believe in keeping up with the historical aspects of our city? Yes. Do I think historical paver stones need to be replaced? Yes. Do I think it is a wise for SF taxpayers to be footing the bill? NO;
A $16,000 grant will help pay for the restoration of a central Sioux Falls alley where the 19th and 21st centuries collide.
Quartzite paving stones in the alley connecting Sixth and Seventh streets between Duluth and Summit avenues are to be removed this summer. City workers will pour a concrete subsurface, then relay the pavers.
With help from the South Dakota State Historical Society’s Deadwood Fund grant program, the city’s cost will be around $175,000.
While I do think that the street department has some financial obligation, I don’t think we need to foot the Lion’s share of this project. I think the city’s role should be making sure the project is done correctly and zoning is in place to do this type of infrastructure work, beyond that, I think either private donations, grants (which are already being used) or adjoining property tax assessments should pay for this project. I scratch my head when the city forces businesses and homeowners to build city sidewalks at their expense, but we drop a cool $175,000 in a neighborhood because it is ‘historical’. Fine. Make them pay for it. It is no different then citizens fixing the city sidewalks.
Besides, with all the discussion about public transit costing the city so much each year, it seems ludicrous we would be spending tax dollars on pavers in an alley. It seems the only thing city government has learned from history is to repeat itself.
It would be interesting to research who owns homes in the alley. Sounds like people who donated $1,000 each into Huether campaign.
Doesn’t matter, it should be covered under their tax assessments
I don’t know this specific alley, but if it is like most in the central part of town it probably is between 10 to 15 houses.
You seriously expect each of those homeowners to be slapped with a tax assessment for over $10,000 just so the city can keep a piece of history?
If that was the case, I’m quite certain the homeowners in the area would tell the city to lay down a layer of asphalt and call it a day. This historical alley isn’t for those who live there… it is for anyone who is interested in the history of our city. I can’t say as I get excited about an alley made from pavers, but once these things are gone they are gone for good. If we don’t take action to preserve some of the historically significant aspects of our city they will disappear under concrete and shiny new apartment complexes.
10 Grand? Sounds like a drop in the bucket compared to the 80 Grand the city just socked a business owner with to build city sidewalks around their business, in a place where there is NO pedestrian traffic.
This is about fairness and priorities. Period.
As someone who has laid thousands of these old quartzite cobblestones there is a process to proper lay them for the future in this part of the country. Good grief, embedding them into a concrete base is not the way. If we were in Florida or southern California it can be done and hold up for a while but in our freeze-thaw cycles, no.
$175,000 to put these stones in concrete is a fast way to waste money on a fast cute election year favor.
These things should be quarried and shaped the old fashioned way, by city executives with dainty pedicures. Only then will this alley live up to its former glory.
“manicures”. fuck it.
I used to live near that alley, been down it a hundred times. Still drive by it every day. A working class neighborhood (think St. Joseph Cathedral), not much political influence, even less personal wealth. What there is is a few individuals in town who don’t have enough to do with their lives trying to tell everyone else how to lead their lives. When the cobblestones on 6th Street hill (just a block away from ‘the alley’) were slated to be moved to a better, safer location, several of these people went ballistic about moving them and no one at city hall had the gonads to stand up and say ‘they are rocks and they are going to be moved”. Now they are a safety hazard (drive on them during a snowfall) and make for a very rough ride. This alley will be a HUGE waste of money.
Testor from what I understand the pavers will not be set in concrete. Rather they will pour a concrete base layer under them that can support the weight of traffic, and then the pavers will be laid on top in a traditional manner. This would prevent the issues with them settling over time as the base layer pushes up between them, and in theory it should result in a flat, true surface that will last for decades.
This also helps explain the high cost, as they are basically building the roadway twice in layers. A more traditional alley in the core of our city is nothing more than a thin layer of asphalt – which clearly would be significantly less expensive.
Testor, Craig is right. I have used the same approach/method on the sidewalk in front of my house. I has stood up fine – especially considering that part of it is on the edge of an alley, where heavy – HEAVY – garbage trucks and the like drive across it all the time.
In fact – it has done better to the segments on my private property and in the boulevard that don’t have a concrete underlayment – and are simply laid on a compacted rock dust base – the “traditional” way. THOSE I have had to relay a couple times and they only see foot traffic.
I have seen several projects in the Sanford Falls region where the contractors have set the stones using direct setting of the stones into the concrete. If you would like some pavers with attached concrete from such projects, I could supply them.
If they are doing the concrete with select base on top we are now talking about why a little patch of alley is costing so much more than it should to clean up and replace. Now I really understand the waste of resources. Sell the pavers for $6 a piece and pay for the asphalt.
That is the worst place in this city to have these cobblestone.
Hey lets place shiny rocks on a steep hill.
Its practical. It’ll be a perfect place to change car oil. It’s washboard with drainage for laundry. Drive through and rock a baby to sleep or break loose constipation. Most important, it gives city employees something to do so Huether can use more contractors for more kickbacks from practical projects. I’ll be sure and stop by to take pictures of fat city employees breaking rock.