City to address roads in need of repair
To the editor:
In the spring of 1999, my wife and then 6-month-old Madalyn, moved from our of our apartment in Burnsville to the gorgeous suburbs of Lakeville. We were fortunate enough to find a house that we felt was perfect in so many ways (cozy and welcoming, great neighborhood, close to parks and schools, large backyard, etc.).
Our family has since grown to five people, two cats, two rabbits, a hamster and a couple of goldfish. Our children includes Madalyn (now a teenager), Abigail (one year from hitting her teens), and Zachary (a 4-year-old who thinks he is about to turn 10).
We have no sidewalks along Idlewood Way, and have gotten along without them quite fine. However, over the last few years, Idlewood Way and its family of roads are in such desperate need of repair, that it is becoming a hazard for people (especially for our 4-year-old who can’t even ride his bike with training wheels, let alone without because of the growing deterioration of neighborhood roads).
We do everything possible to keep our house and the property that it sits on to look as new and inviting as it did the day we moved in back in 1999. We pay our taxes and are even willing to pay a bit more when our schools and community call for it. I have asked the Lakeville City Council to give a little more attention to the community’s needs when it comes to our neighborhood roads. The roads have never looked as poor as they have over the last few years. I understand that unexpected financial burdens, minimal budgets and hard winters have made it challenging to keep our neighborhood roads in top condition in recent years. However, I feel that this matter can no longer be put off and attention needs to be given to our roads immediately.
Thank you for your time and attention to this matter. Zachary is especially thankful!
Best wishes in all your planning efforts.
Corey J. Spoden
Lakeville
Editor’s note: After Spoden sent his letter to the city of Lakeville, Chris Petree, public works director, wrote back to say that Idlewood Way is on the city’s priority list on its two-year-old pavement management program.
He wrote that the neighborhood was identified as an area with “failing pavement” and needed complete reconstruction of the streets. Approximately 25 percent or about 65 miles of streets in Lakeville fall into this category, he said.
The neighborhood’s streets have been identified to be reconstructed in the next five-10 years. In the short-term, the city is performing maintenance activities this spring in the neighborhood, including velocity patching.
