This issue was recategorized from Sidewalk Issue to Snow Removal or Plow Damage.

Thank you for your concern. This issue has been received by our department. We will look into this issue further and resolve it accordingly.

I have reported this issue a few time beginning 7 or 8 years ago. I certainly hope this will be looked into and the necessary repairs get done.

This is NOT simply a snow removal issue. The sidewalks have been a problem for years, but when the town resurfaced Strong Street in 2013, they left rubble and lots of dangerous rocks and made the sidewalks much less usable. It is dangerous to the many, many children walking on these sidewalks to Wildwood school each day. We have come to the Public Works meeting, and PWC members had been very kind. But the town has yet to clean up or better yet, upgrade, the sidewalk.

Joya Misra is correct. The sidewalk is a mess because it was neglected for years and when Strong St was paved the sidewalk from Wildwood School was done over , in places, up to Hills Rd. The sidewalk from Hiils Rd to Redgate was neglected and gravel was put in between the new curb and the crumbling asphalt . In the winter some of this sidewalk is impassable and you have to walk on the road .This makes an accident waiting to happen which I have been addressing the past few years.
Happy to hear that this situation is being looked into .

I agree that this is a problem. When I walk along Strong Street (which is often, as I live there), that section of sidewalk is so bad that I walk in the street instead. If children on their way to and from school do this, it's quite dangerous for all.

I too agree that this a problem. While I have no doubt it's challenging to address the many maintenance issues in Amherst, the poor condition of the Strong Street sidewalk has been a safety issue in need of attention for quite some time. I hope a serious incident does not need to occur to bring attention to this issue.

Definitely in need or an upgrade. Impossible to walk on them.

The Highway division has been instructed to assess the debris issue for potential clean up. The reconstruction of the sidewalk is a project that will be considered as higher level projects come to fruition.

I want to add my voice here as well. I run along Strong Street frequently, and usually have to move into the street, to avoid tripping on the cracked asphalt, or getting hit in the face by the overgrown bushes. I know a lot of kids walk along there on their way to school. It is a busy road with a lot of fast-moving traffic, and with the new elementary school being built on the Wildwood site, the traffic will only get worse.

It is common for town governments to behave as if the money saved by ignoring a safety issue is more important than the possibility that someone might be injured or killed. My father-in-law made a cynical philosophical argument that the fact that we don't fix road and sidewalk issues until after someone gets hurt means that Americans believe in human sacrifice.

I don't know if I agree with him, but it is true that the sidewalk on Strong St. seemed like little more than an afterthought when it was installed, it was never maintained, and now it is an uneven, crumbling mass of hazards that makes walking and riding in the street preferable. When snow is present it is utterly impassable, and I had to drive my kids to Wildwood rather than make them walk in the street.

A dirt path would be safer than what is there now.