Akron's Mayor Shammas Malik has sounded the charge on infrastructure, with a hefty $1 million directed towards mending deficient sidewalks and an additional $5.75 million earmarked for local roadwork, the city disclosed this week. Smooth travels are on the horizon for Akron dwellers as the city plans to resurface 48 miles of roadway and renew its commitment to pedestrian paths, an endeavor particularly pivotal for those braving Ohio's punishing winters. "We've increased investment in these important infrastructure projects to address some of the biggest concerns we hear from our residents," Mayor Malik shared in a statement from the City of Akron news outlet.
With pledges to catch up on sidewalk repairs by year's end, the city intends to cross off backlog requests through July 2024. Malone's administration is steadfast in wrestling down previous years' delays, once languishing at a three-year setback. Residents navigating to shops, schools, or work can anticipate smoother commutes, the upgrades manifesting from an ongoing investment that has become more robust since 2017 following a local income tax bump. This fiscal nourishment has broadened Akron's roadwork capacity, having metamorphosed from a meager 15-mile annual reach to the current comprehensive coverage worthy of a collective exhale.
The breadth of this year's civil works doesn't solely pivot on remediation. Still, it extends to nurturing connectivity with brand new construction slated for Portage Trail West, a joint venture between Akron and Cuyahoga Falls that promises fresh sidewalks binding Treetop Trail/Waterford Court to Portage Path. There's a keen eye on making streets safer, too - Akron is also microlensing its gaze on East Akron and the Copley District, tossing funds at an investigative study earmarked for upping the ante on pedestrian well-being, with a committed heart towards the perils that often beset the unwary foot-traveler.
Mayor Malik's legislative push for this year's resurfacing program heralds a strategic allocation of the $5.75 million pot, a sum expected to span 14 miles of overdue projects plus 34 miles of brand-new tarmac work. It's a marked-up tropic from the pre-2017 era, where entire roadways subsisted in a categorization a few notches shy of mediocre. Akron's asphalt arteries were graded, with generous appraisal, as "fair" to "good." The city is set to publish a comprehensive list of resurfacing targets, including the carryover workload and 2025's slated paths, once plans are cemented early this spring.
