CUMBERLAND — New sidewalks installed for the recently completed $17.2 million Baltimore Street Redevelopment Project have been damaged.
Downtown Development Commission Executive Director Melinda Kelleher said some bricks were broken due to vehicles that parked on the walkways.
“We do not have … information yet on the damaged pavers or what it will cost to fix them,” she said. “The street department has been trained on how to repair the bricks as the contractor’s engagement with the city is complete and they won’t come back for repairs caused by negligence on our part.”
Sidewalks should never be blocked as they are pedestrian walkways and by law must be open and accessible, Kelleher said.
“The bottom line is vehicles should not be parked at any time on the sidewalks,” she said.
The pavers on the sidewalks are not made to hold the weight of vehicles.
Bricks on Baltimore Street have a concrete base, but the sidewalks do not.
“There is also no spacing between the sidewalk pavers, thus they are right up against each other and therefore more prone to chipping with extra weight on them,” Kelleher said. “The sidewalk pavers are rated for light traffic, which does not include motor vehicles.”
During construction, before the new pavers were installed, the city allowed vehicles to park on sidewalks, to load or unload supplies, at some businesses as needed “for short, very temporary periods of time,” she said.
“With construction complete and parking spaces open now on all the streets, there are places to park other than sidewalks for these purposes,” Kelleher said. “Common sense should tell you that parking on brand new pavers is not a good idea.”