[Adopted as Ch. X of the 1975 Municipal Code]
There is hereby established a Streets Department in and for the City of Salem. The Council shall provide for such employees as shall be deemed necessary for the efficient operation of the Department and shall appoint one employee in charge, hereinafter referred to as the "Street Superintendent." The Council shall designate the duties and responsibilities of the Department. The Council shall annually appoint a committee of its members to oversee the Department and shall designate a Chairman of the committee.
Where sidewalks, curbs or gutters have been constructed on streets in the City of Salem, they shall be maintained by the property owner in a smooth and safe condition.
A. 
If the Mayor and Common Council or the City Engineer shall determine that sidewalks, curbs or gutters abutting any property are in poor or unsafe condition, the City Clerk shall notify the property owner.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code; see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I.
B. 
The notice shall contain a description of the property affected, sufficient to identify it, a description of the repairs to be made and a statement of the percentage of the cost to be borne by the owner or owners of such real estate, if the cost thereof is to be borne in part by such owners, or a statement that unless the owner or owners complete the same within 30 days after service thereof, the city will make the repairs at the expense of the owners (N.J.S.A. 40:65-1 et seq.).
If the property owner fails to make the specified repairs and to make safe sidewalks, curbs or gutters within 30 days after official notice from the City Clerk, the city may proceed to make the repairs and assess the cost thereof against the property as a municipal improvement.
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code; see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I.
Nothing in this Article shall remove the responsibility of the property owner to properly protect his property and to maintain sidewalks, curbs or gutters in a safe condition.
All repair work to be done under supervision of the City Engineer.
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code; see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I.
New construction or reconstruction of sidewalks, curbs and gutters (as differentiated from minor repair work covered by this Article) shall be in accordance with standard specifications for construction of concrete curbs and gutters and brick and concrete sidewalks.
All curbs, gutters and sidewalks constructed or reconstructed in the streets and roads of the City of Salem shall conform to the following specifications and dimensions:
A. 
Subgrade. The subgrade shall be well drained and compacted to a firm surface having a uniform bearing power. Any rock or large stone in the subgrade shall be removed and replaced with the typical subgrade soil. It shall be wet down so as to be moist immediately before concrete is placed. The subgrade for sidewalks shall consist of not less than four inches of sandy gravel or crushed stone.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code; see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I.
B. 
Materials. All materials used in the construction or reconstruction of curbs, gutters or sidewalks shall meet the requirements of the current specifications governing materials of the New Jersey Department of Transportation and be approved by the City Engineer.[2]
[2]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code; see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I.
C. 
Strength.
(1) 
All concrete for curbs, gutters and sidewalks shall be ready-mixed concrete unless otherwise approved by the City Engineer. In either case, concrete shall be equal to New Jersey Department of Transportation specifications for Class B concrete for curbs and gutters and for Class C concrete for sidewalks. Curb and gutter concrete shall contain at least six and one-half (61/2) sacks of cement per cubic yard of concrete and shall obtain at least four-thousand-pound-per-square-inch strength in 28 days. Sidewalk concrete shall contain at least six sacks of cement per cubic yard of concrete and shall obtain at least three-thousand-five-hundred-pound-per-square-inch strength in 28 days. All concrete shall have a maximum water content of five and one-half (51/2) gallons per sack of portland cement, including free water contained in its aggregates. Concrete shall have a slump of between two and four inches with a maximum of three-inch slump for concrete curbs.[3]
[3]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code; see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I.
(2) 
Air-entraining agents shall be used to provide an air content of 6%, plus or minus 1%.
(3) 
For ready-mixed concrete, the producer shall certify that the concrete meets the above specifications, including the quantities of materials used in making the concrete, together with the designed slump and air content.
(4) 
Job-mixed concrete will not be permitted except under special conditions. Job-mixed concrete shall produce concrete equivalent to ready-mixed concrete, and the mixing and equipment shall meet the approval of the City Engineer.[4]
[4]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code; see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I.
D. 
Finishing. Concrete deposited in the forms shall be thoroughly tamped and vibrated into place in such a manner that the forms are entirely filled, and the concrete thoroughly compacted, and no honeycombing shall exist.
(1) 
For sidewalks. After compacting the concrete in the forms, it shall be struck off even with the tops of the forms with a screed. The surface shall then be finished with a magnesium float or darby, leveling any raised spots and filling depressions. Side edges shall be rounded with an edger.
(2) 
For curb and gutters. Before initial set, the top surface shall be finished with a magnesium float to a smooth, even, dense finish. As soon as the setting of the concrete will permit the removal of the forms as directed by the Engineer, they shall be removed, and the front face shall be finished with a moist wood tool. No tool marks are to be left on exposed edges.
E. 
Dimensions. All curbs and gutters shall be constructed of concrete unless specific approval for other material is given by the engineer. The dimensions of combination curb and gutters shall be six inches at the top of the curb with the face of the curb on a one-and-one-half-inch batter, six inches deep to the gutter, unless otherwise directed by the Engineer. The gutter shall be eight inches thick and extend at least 24 inches from the back of the curb. Corners at curb intersections are to be rounded with a curve of not less than 12 feet radius for sidewalks which are nine or more feet in width and, for sidewalks six to nine feet in width, a curve of not less than 10 feet radius. On sidewalks less than six feet in width, the curve radius will be constructed as directed by the Engineer.
F. 
Curing.
(1) 
Concrete shall be cured by covering all exposed surfaces as soon as practicable with a waterproof paper or polyethylene sheets, suitably weighted down to prevent evaporation of water in the concrete or by spraying on a white-pigmented curing compound applied at the rate recommended by the manufacturer. The waterproof paper or polyethylene shall remain in place for a period not less than five days. The curing compound and its rate of application shall be approved by the Engineer.
(2) 
In extremely hot weather, extra care shall be exercised to avoid high temperatures in the fresh concrete and to prevent drying of the newly placed concrete. Exposed surfaces with no precautions being taken to provide protection for the concrete will not be tolerated.
G. 
Separate curb. Should a separate curb be installed, the dimensions for a separate concrete curb shall be six inches wide at the top and eight inches at the bottom and the depth of the curb shall be 18 inches.
H. 
Driveways. The curb on driveways shall rise one and one-half (11/2) inches above the gutter. The joint shall be of bituminized felt or sheets of solid bitumen such as is used in standard pavement expansion joints and shall meet the requirements of the New Jersey Department of Transportation and be approved by the City Engineer, and it shall be not less than one-half (1/2) inch in thickness. Where concrete sidewalks abut buildings or copings, they shall be separated by expansion joints of not less than one-half (1/2) inch thickness and of the same depth as the abutting sidewalks of the same specifications as called for above. Contraction joints shall be provided at ten-foot intervals for curbs and gutters and for sidewalks at intervals equivalent to the sidewalk width, but not more than five feet.[5]
[5]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code; see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I.
All concrete sidewalks shall be at least four inches thick. Concrete sidewalks shall be finished with a "nonskid" surface. The slope of the concrete sidewalk from the top of curb shall be not less than three-sixteenths (3/16) inch and no more than three-eights (3/8) inch per foot. Sidewalks shall be installed not less than five feet in width.
A. 
Brick sidewalks shall be constructed of building brick, vitrified paving or sewer brick and shall be hard-burned and of uniform hardness. Brick sidewalks shall be constructed on a foundation of compacted gravel or cinders not less than four inches in depth. The bricks shall be bedded in a two-inch layer of clean sand spread over the foundation. The bricks shall be laid with close joints, all longitudinal joints broken by a lap of at least two feet and covered with clean, fine, dry sand and rammed until the bricks reach a firm, unyielding bed and present a surface of the proper grade and slope, and any lack therein shall be corrected by taking up and re-laying the bricks. The slope of the brick sidewalk from the top of curb shall be not less than three-sixteenths (3/16) inch and not more than one-half (1/2) inch per foot.
B. 
Brick sidewalks may also be laid in mortar on a one-to-three-to-five-mix concrete foundation, four inches in depth.
C. 
In repairing old brick sidewalks, a tolerance of not more than one-half (1/2) inch per foot will be allowed or a four-foot straight edge, when laid on the brick sidewalk, shall be not more than one inch above the bricks at the center of the straight edge, but no individual brick irregularity will be permitted.
[Amended 10-16-1995 as Ord. No. 95-15]
All persons shall make written application to the City Treasurer before constructing any curb, gutter or sidewalk in the streets or roads of the city, stating location and approximate length, and the City Treasurer shall issue permit therefor, said permit to be kept on the job during construction. The fee for permit shall be $25. No curb, gutter or sidewalk shall be constructed or reconstructed in the streets or roads of the city until lines and grades have been provided by the City Engineer.
Any stump or other obstruction in the sidewalk shall be removed on notice from the City Engineer.
An allotment of $1 per linear foot of gutter shall be made by the City of Salem to the owner installing the original gutter in accordance with this Article.
Any person or persons installing any curbs, gutters or sidewalks not in accordance with the above specifications shall stop such installation upon written notice from the City Engineer and shall remove condemned work within 10 days after said notice.
[Amended 10-16-1995 as Ord. No. 95-15; 7-20-2020 by Ord. No. 20-06]
Any person violating this article shall, upon conviction, be subject to a fine of not less than $100 nor more than $2,000; or imprisonment in the county jail for a term not exceeding 90 days or by a period of community service not exceeding 90 days. Any person who is convicted of violating this article within one year of the date of a previous violation of the same article and who was fined for the previous violation, shall be sentenced by a court to an additional fine as a repeat offender. The additional fine imposed by a court upon a person for a repeated offense shall not be less than the minimum or exceed the maximum fine fixed for a violation of the article, but shall be calculated separately from the fine imposed for the violation of the article.