Residents told the Dayton Daily News they hope some of the roads and thoroughfares near where they live are redone and smoothed out.
“It’s pretty bad in places,” said David Raum, a 78-year-old Oregon District resident, about sections of Wayne Avenue.
Credit: JIM NOELKER
Credit: JIM NOELKER
Survey says
Late last year, about 18% of Dayton residents said they were satisfied or very satisfied with the condition of the city’s streets, pavement and sidewalks, according to the results of a citywide survey that were released in March.
In contrast, about 61% said they were dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with Dayton’s roadways and sidewalks.
But satisfaction increased three percentage points from 2021, while dissatisfaction decreased by about three percentage points, says the survey administered by the ETC Institute.
The road and sidewalk satisfaction level was the highest its been since 2018, while dissatisfaction fell to the lowest level since that same year.
The modest improvements in public opinion come at a time when city has upped the investments it is making to resurface its road network.
Adding up
Dayton spent $9.8 million on repaving last year — $9.1 million on residential streets and $750,000 on thoroughfares.
The city last year paved 92 lane miles of residential streets, which was 26 more than in 2021.
By comparison, the city spent about $6.1 million on asphalt resurfacing in 2019 and $6.6 million the following year. It spent about $8 million in 2021.
This year, the city plans to spend $6.9 million on residential roads and $2.6 million on thoroughfares — a total of $9.5 million.
The city will pave 70 lane miles of residential streets this year, a significant drop from last year. But Dayton is doubling the amount of thoroughfares it is redoing, compared to 2022 and some other recent years.
Fred Stovall, Dayton’s public works director, said everyone understandably wants nicely paved streets and high-quality curb and sidewalks in their neighborhoods. He said the city is trying to make that happen and some good progress has been made.
The city’s public works department has a goal to increase the city’s average residential streets pavement condition index to 70 by the end of 2024, meaning they should range from fair to good.
This was promised as part of the city’s Issue 9 campaign, which led to the temporary income tax hike that voters approved in November 2016.
The average index score was 49 in 2017, but that rose to 57 in 2020. The city said the rating was 68 by the end of 2022.
“We made a big improvement from where we were,” Stovall said during a budget work session late last year.
Funding for residential street repaving comes from the general fund, a federal block grant program and Issue 9. Thoroughfare resurfacing is funded by gas and license plate taxes and the general fund.
By the end of this year, the city will have repaved 351 residential street lane miles of roadway since 2017 — more than a quarter of all residential roadways, Stovall said.
Dayton leaders earlier this year also approved a contract to assess curbs and sidewalks in multiple “target geographies” of the city, like Five Oaks, Wolf Creek, Old North Dayton, Miami Chapel, Edgemont and Carillon.
The city plans to put about $10 million of its federal COVID relief funds toward curb and sidewalk repairs.
Some community members told this newspaper or said on social media that certain streets in the city are in miserable shape, including sections of Wayne Avenue in the Walnut Hills neighborhood.
A stretch of the roadway that is home to Kroger, Walgreens and Tank’s Bar & Grill was torn up as part of a water main replacement project last year. Motorists say the roadway needs to be repaved soon because right now it is a very bumpy ride.
“It’s tough, and cities have budgets they have to work with,” Raum said, later adding, “I don’t know if the roads are getting better or not. ... I think they’re (the city) probably doing the best they can.”
Raum said travels to the southern U.S. during the winter so he doesn’t know how bad Dayton’s roads can get during the colder months.
Linda Vanderford, 72, who lives in the St. Anne’s Hill Historic District, said her car keeps getting flat tires from screws and potholes. Her tire was punctured by another screw on Friday, a week after the same thing happened.
She said she doesn’t know what to blame for this, but it has been a major inconvenience.
Vanderford said it seems like Dayton’s streets have a significant number of potholes, but she isn’t bothered too much by this, except when they cause damage to her tires.
“It would be nicer if they stayed on top of it a little bit more, but you know, now that I’m retired I don’t think about the streets as much,” she said. “I think it’s tolerable: I think I’ve seen and felt more problems on U.S. 35, getting in and out of the city, than I have in the city.”
2023 Dayton residential street repaving round 1:
Belmont neighborhood:
* Amesborough Road from Newcastle Drive to Debra Avenue (0.79 lane miles)
* Barney Avenue, from South Corp to Eastgate Avenue (0.05 lane miles)
* Bauer Avenue, from South Corp to Eastgate Avenue (0.11 lane miles)
* Eastgate Avenue, from Bauer Avenue to Amesborough Road (0.6 lane miles)
* Flesher Avenue, from Eastgate Avenue to South Terminus (0.05 lane miles)
* Highridge Avenue, from Amesborough Road to West Terminus (0.1 lane miles)
* Horlacher Avenue, from South Terminus to Eastgate Avenue (0.04 lane miles)
* King Avenue, from Morse Avenue to Watervliet Avenue (0.71 lane miles)
* Newcastle Driver, from Eastgate Avenue to North Terminus (0.2 lane miles)
* Norton Avenue, from South Corp to North Terminus (0.37 lane miles)
* Westfield Avenue, from Morse Avenue to Watervliet Avenue (0.41 lane miles)
* Woodbine Avenue, from S. Smithville Road to Watervliet Avenue (0.62 lane miles)
Burkhart neighborhood:
* Bierce Avenue, from South Jersey Street to West Terminus (0.74 lane miles)
* Gilbert Avenue, from Davis Avenue to Huffman Avenue (0.14 lane miles)
* Meridian Street, from Davis Avenue to Huffman Avenue (0.14 lane miles)
* Pleasant Avenue, from S. Hedges Street to South Jersey Street (0.51 lane miles)
DeWeese neighborhood:
* Kendall Avenue, from East Corp to Idylewilde Boulevard (0.23 lane miles)
* Viewell Avenue, from Kendall Avenue to East Sibenthaler Avenue (0.27 lane miles)
Eastmont neighborhood:
* Hickory Woods Trail, Woodman Drive to West Terminus (0.23 lane miles)
* Spaulding Road, from South Corp to North Corp (0.97 lane miles)
Grafton Hill neighborhood:
* Belmonte Park N., from Belmonte Park E. to West Grand Avenue (0.18 lane miles)
* Belmonte Park E., from Superior Avenue to Stoddard Avenue (0.26 lane miles)
Kittyhawk neighborhood:
* Birch Drive, from East Corp Limit to Wagoner Ford Road (0.49 lane miles)
* Brentlinger Drive, from Needmore Road to North Terminus (0.49 lane miles)
Madden Hills neighborhood:
* Rider Avenue, from Ruth Avenue to Germantown Street (0.37 lane miles)
* Ruth Avenue, from Rider Avenue to Germantown Street (0.36 lane miles)
* Weaver Street, from Haller Avenue to Ruth Avenue (0.57 lane miles)
McCook Field neighborhood:
* Lindorph Drive, from Webster Street to West Terminus (0.19 lane miles)
* Lucille Drive, from Webster Street to West Terminus (0.2 lane miles)
* Winners Circle, from North Terminus to Webster Street (0.69 lane miles)
Old North Dayton neighborhood:
* Commerce Park Drive, from Kunz Road to Heid Avenue (0.6 lane miles)
* Floral Home Avenue, from Valley Street to Rondowa Avenue (0.19 lane miles)
* Notre Dam Avenue, from Hart Street to Leo Street (1.23 lane miles)
* Pompano Circle, from Floral home Avenue to South Terminus (0.29 lane miles)
* Rondowa Avenue, from Floral Home Avenue to West Corp (0.2 lane miles)
* Warner Avenue, from Alaska Street to Troy Street (0.61 lane miles)
Patterson Park neighborhood:
* Broadview Boulevard, from Broadmoor Drive to Shroyer Road (0.97 lane miles)
* Devonshire Road, from Broadview Boulevard to Shroyer Road (0.2 lane miles)
* Shadowlawn Avenue, from Patterson Road to Shroyer Road (0.18 lane miles)
Shroyer Park neighborhood:
* Patterson Road, from Wilmington Avenue to West Corp (1.27 lane miles)
* Winden Avenue, from Shadowlawn Avenue to Irving Avenue (0.25 lane miles)
South Park neighborhood:
* Johnson Street, from Morton Avenue to Wayne Avenue (0.62 lane miles)
* James Street, from Johnson Street to Hickory Street (0.33 lane miles)
* Bradford Street, from James Street to Wayne Avenue (0.21 lane miles)
* Bonner Street, from Oak Street to Hickory Street (0.49 lane miles)
Springfield neighborhood:
* Dellrose Avenue, from East Terminus to Winston Avenue (0.29 lane miles)
* San Jose Avenue, from Dellrose Avenue to Springfield Street (0.18 lane miles)
* Springfield Street, from North Findlay Street to East Third Street (1.04 lane miles)
* Winston Avenue, from Woodley Road to Winston Avenue (0.45 lane miles)
Wright View neighborhood:
* Gaddis Boulevard, from Woodley Road to Winston Avenue (0.45 lane miles)
* Pleasant Avenue, from East Terminus to South Hedges Street (0.26 lane miles)
* Winston Avenue, from North Garland Avenue to Gaddis Boulevard (0.1 lane miles)
Source: City of Dayton
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