Council seeking funds for street repair
A unique block of street in Lansdale could get a big boost thanks to an action taken earlier this month.
Borough council has unanimously approved a motion seeking grant money to pave a block of Richardson Avenue.
“This year, we will be applying for the block of North Richardson Avenue, between Second and Third Street,” said Borough Manager John Ernst.
“When you go out Richardson Avenue, toward the water tower, you get to a dead-end and have to turn left onto Third Street. This will be for that block immediately before the turn,” he said.
Each year for much of the 2010s, borough staff and council have applied for Community Development Block Grant funds, which are federally funded and administered
through Montgomery County, and prior CBDG projects in town have included
work that rebuilt three blocks of Eighth Street between Cannon and
Maple Avenues in 2014, a similar CBDG project to rebuild East Second Street from North Chestnut to Ridge Streets in 2015, and a CBDG project for East Third from Broad Street to Ridge in 2017.
Ernst announced during council’s April 7 administration and finance committee meeting that the block now up for discussion meets the CBDG income level criteria for a borough grant application, and is next on the town’s to-do list. Due to a tight timeline to meet an upcoming deadline for the grant application, full council would need to take action that night.
Councilman Leon Angelichio
asked if the project would involve just paving the surface of the street, or repairs or upgrades to utilities underneath. Ernst said it would be the latter, and added that one other unique feature of the street may soon be departing.
“This is one of the very few blocks in the borough that has brick sidewalks. So while there’s a certain charm to brick sidewalks, there’s a certain maintenance issues and headaches that come with brick sidewalks,” he said.
“Those sidewalks will be replaced, the slate or granite curbing will be replaced, that’s going to be replaced as part of all of this funding, but none of the expense will come back to homeowners,” he said.
Council voted unanimously to approve the request.
Borough council next meets at 8:45 p.m. on May 5 with various committees starting at 6:15 p.m.; for more information visit www.Lansdale.org.
“This year, we will be applying for the block of North Richardson Avenue, between Second and Third Street.” — Borough Manager John Ernst