It shall be unlawful for any person to take up or remove all
or any part of a curb or a sidewalk without first obtaining permission
to do so from the Superintendent of Public Works.
[Amended 1-8-1975 by Ord.
No. 1338]
All sidewalks where the grade has been or may hereafter be established
shall be laid under the supervision of the Superintendent of Public
Works and shall be constructed of concrete according to the following
specifications: Such sidewalk shall be at least four feet wide, shall
be laid to a line and grade to be furnished by the Borough and shall
be laid using metal or wood forms so as to preserve a straight line
along the sides. Forms may be of wood or metal, shall be of substantial
thickness and have a smooth true surface. Metal forms shall be free
from rust and shall have all bolts or rivets countersunk so as to
prevent intrusion into the concrete. All forms shall be braced and
lined up so as to produce smooth concrete surfaces true to line and
grade. The earth shall be excavated or filled to a plane six inches
below the finished grade (eight inches in driveways) of said sidewalk
and shall be well compacted by ramming, rolling, or vibratory methods,
if necessary; a foundation two inches in thickness shall then be laid
of sand or gravel and shall be well compacted as described above;
upon this foundation the concrete walks shall be laid to a total thickness
of not less than four inches (six inches in driveways) of Class C
air-entrained concrete composed of one part cement, two parts sand
and four parts stone. The material shall be well mixed and evenly
applied and the surface shall be smoothed with a wood float or other
proper tool. The walks shall be constructed with transverse expansion
joints 1/2 inch wide at intervals of not more than 12 feet and filled
with preformed bituminous type joint filler. Transverse surface grooves,
shall be cut in the sidewalk between expansion joints at intervals
of four feet. Longitudinal joints 1/4 inch wide shall be provided
between sidewalks and abutting curbs and also shall be filled with
preformed bituminous type joint filler. The top of all joint filler
shall be 1/4 inch below the top of the sidewalks. All edges shall
be neatly rounded to 1/4 inch. The space between the concrete walks
and the side line of the street shall be graded to blend into the
existing ground line. The sidewalk and the space between the sidewalk
and gutter line of the street shall be graded off to the gutter, the
surface being pitched toward the gutter for surface drainage. The
slope of the sidewalk shall be 1/4 inch per foot and the surface between
the sidewalk and the curb shall vary between 1/2 inch per foot and
one inch per foot. If necessary, grades will be provided by the Borough.
It shall be unlawful to construct or maintain a private cartway
or driveway constructed on or after May 19, 1922, consisting of any
material other than concrete or blacktop and not constructed under
the supervision of the Superintendent of Public Works.
The owner or occupant of any dwelling, house, store or other
building or lot or lots of ground fronting or abutting any public
street, avenue, alley or lane which has been graded shall at his own
expense well and sufficiently lay sidewalks in the manner provided
in this article in front of or adjacent to such premises and keep
and maintain the same in good repair.
The Council may by resolution cause a notice in writing to be
served upon the owner or occupant of any land abutting on any public
street, avenue, alley or lane, requiring said owner or occupant to
set curb or lay sidewalk or to cause the existing curb or sidewalk
to be reset, relaid, altered or repaired within a period of not less
than 30 days after the date of service of said notice. Whenever any
lands are unoccupied and the owner or owners thereof cannot be found
within the Borough, the notice shall be mailed, postpaid, to his post
office address if the same can be ascertained. In case such owner
or owners are nonresidents or his post office address cannot be ascertained,
then the notice may be inserted for four weeks, once a week, in a
newspaper circulated in the Borough. In the event the owner or occupants
of such land shall not comply with the requirements of such notice,
the Council shall, upon filing due proof of service or publication
of such notice, cause the required work to be done, and the cost of
same shall be ascertained and certified to the Tax Collector, to become
a lien upon the abutting lands in front of which such work was done
to the extent that assessments for local improvements are liens, and
shall bear interest from the date it is certified to the said Tax
Collector at the same rate of interest as other assessments, and in
addition thereto the Borough may maintain an action to recover the
said amount against the said owner or owners of said lands in any
court having competent jurisdiction thereof.
Land lying between the curb and a sidewalk and between the sidewalk
and the property line shall be maintained at a uniform grade or surface
and shall be neatly and sufficiently covered with gravel, broken stone,
screening, grass or sodding.
No person shall drive a wagon, automobile or other vehicle across
or along any sidewalk, except on a driveway, without first thoroughly
covering such sidewalk so as to protect it from damage.
The owner or tenant of land abutting upon the sidewalk of any
street or avenue shall remove all snow or ice from such sidewalk within
12 daylight hours after same shall have formed or fallen.
The owner or tenant of land abutting or bounding upon the sidewalks
of any street or avenue shall, when such sidewalks may become icy
or otherwise slippery, place thereupon ashes, sand, cinders, sawdust
or other material designed to prevent pedestrians from slipping and
falling and shall at all times keep such sidewalks in a safe and passable
condition.
[Amended 1-8-1975 by Ord.
No. 1338]
Any person who shall violate any of the provisions of this article
shall, upon conviction thereof, be subject to a fine not exceeding
$25. Each day such violation continues shall constitute a separate
offense.