Streets Committee

This question has a number of answers, but here are some of them which explain why they are important.

Curbs help to control water runoff and, in conjunction with the crown in the roadway, direct rainwater to the side of the street where it will not impede traffic.
Curbs, if they are high enough, help to keep the water off the sidewalks so that it is safer for pedestrians.
Curbs help to keep vehicular traffic in the streets and off the sidewalks where they could injure a pedestrian. If they are high enough (between 4 and 8 inches as recommended by PennDOT) they do, in fact help keep traffic in the streets and away from pedestrians.

In 1905, Lemoyne became an incorporated Borough. It had 800 residents and a few roads dirt roads. When it rained, these streets turned into a muddy mess, and travel was difficult and hazardous until the water drained into the ground or evaporated from the surface. There were few personal vehicles. People walked from place to place, or they used trolley cars which ran on railways in the middle of the streets. Over time gas powered buses were added to the transportation mix and the trollies were phased out. At the same time the growing numbers of car owners required roads that were better than dirt. Concrete and asphalt was eventually installed, but this improvement caused a problem with drainage. Sidewalks and gutters had to be added to keep the standing water away from pedestrians and in the gutters until it evaporated or drained off. Later, underground drains were added to improve water runoff. Other parts of the Borough did not experience these problems as severely, so curbs and sidewalks were not always required.

Please note, it is possible that your curb and sidewalk was put there by the prior owner and was not required by the Borough. However, once installed, they must be maintained by the current property owner.

Not all sidewalk and curb repairs are tied to street repairs. If, upon routine inspection by the Borough, it is noted that your sidewalk needs to be replaced, you could be required to repair or replace it regardless of when the roadway may be addressed. If a property owner refuses to fix a sidewalk or curb problem, the Borough is allowed, by state law, to complete the work and then bill the property owner.

No, local taxes are not used to repair roadways. Each year the Borough receives “Liquid Fuel Funds” from the state which is from the gas tax collected at the pumps when motor vehicles fuel up. These are the only funds used for these projects at this time, and road maintenance is the only thing for which these funds can be used. They cannot be used for curbs and sidewalks.

When streets come up for repair or replacement, the Borough also looks at the conditions of abutting sidewalks and curbs. Following an on-site inspection, recommendations are made for Council’s consideration. For many years this was not done, and the current Council realized that there was a growing safety issue arising from broken curbs, cracked and raised sidewalks, tripping hazards. We could not permit this to continue.

The Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code Act (PMPCA) of 1968, P.L.805, No.247 as reenacted and amended and last updated in 2017 states:

Any borough may, by ordinance, lay out and establish sidewalks, curbs, gutters and surface water drains along any street and, with the consent of the Secretary of Transportation, along any State highway.

Lemoyne Borough ordinance 766, Article VII beginning with Paragraph 472-42 and it can be found here.

This responsibility belongs to the property owner. The PMPCA specifically states:

The borough may also require owners of property abutting on any street or State highway to grade, construct, drain, pave and repave the sidewalk, curb or gutter and keep them in repair and in safe and usable condition along the property at the grades and under the regulations and specifications as council may prescribe.