City of Lancaster
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Street Maintenance
Mission
The Street Maintenance Section’s goal is to maintain the street right of way in a way that it provides safe travel for vehicular and pedestrian traffic, and the appropriate conveyance of storm water to the storm drain infrastructure.
Operations
Street Maintenance operations are comprised of asphalt maintenance and concrete maintenance. The Concrete Crew is responsible for the maintenance of sidewalks, curb and gutter, cross gutters, median curbs, splash aprons and handicap ramps. The Asphalt Crew is responsible for the maintenance of the improved street surfaces. This includes potholing, deep patching, and crack sealing.
Lifted Sidewalk
If you observe an unsafe sidewalk situation, please call us at (661) 723-5985. Your observation will generate a service request to have the location assessed by a representative from Street Maintenance. Based on the inspection, the repair work will be scheduled according to the appropriate priority. Priorities are established first and foremost on safety. Immediate safety issues will be addressed immediately. Other factors that can determine the priority are the location, the level of use, and the extent of the repair.
The City may not always replace damaged sidewalk. Acceptable options are grinding, scabbling, and ramping techniques. These are certainly only temporary fixes that allow the City time to eventually replace the sidewalk.
Standing Water
The City of Lancaster sweeps curb and gutter twice a month in order to maintain clean and clear gutters. Due to the relatively flat topography that exists in Lancaster, there are locations where subterranean fluctuations, such as settling or tree root intrusion, can cause elevation changes in the gutter which will result in standing water. Street Maintenance will assess each situation for the cause and identify potential solutions, but due to the limitations of grade, not all locations can be repaired without a major street re-build. Where corrections can be made, the work will be scheduled.
Nuisance water is the single largest contributor to standing water issues. Nuisance water is domestic water that is discharges to the curb and gutter. Nuisance water can often be attributed to improperly set irrigation timers, washing down driveways instead of broom sweeping, draining swimming pools, and residential vehicle washing. With the range of reported West Nile Virus cases expanding over the past several years, it is important for both the City and its resident to minimize the amount of standing water that accumulates.
It is unlikely that standing water in the gutter can provide breeding conditions for mosquitoes due to the constant replenishment with new nuisance water and the fact that the gestation period of the mosquito is longer than the street sweeping frequency. If you would like more information on West Nile Virus and steps you can take to protect yourself and your family, please call the Antelope Valley Mosquito and Vector Control District at (661) 942-2917 or click on the link below.
http://www.avmosquito.org/
Tree Root Damage
Tree roots can often be the primary cause of damage to City infrastructure. If you believe the damage is due to a Public tree, please be sure to notify us. A Public tree is one that is planted within a City of Lancaster maintained landscape area. The City is responsible for the trimming, pruning and spraying of Public trees. If tree roots are causing the damage, the City will first assess the situation to determine a course of action. Because the City of Lancaster takes great pride in its trees, the tree in question will not be automatically removed. Each situation must be evaluated individually to determine if the tree fits into the City’s guidelines for removal and replacement.
The City is not responsible for damage to private property that might be caused by a Public tree. The homeowner is not allowed to remove a Public tree. If you are having problems with a Public tree, please call us at (661) 723-6077.
Potholes
Potholes are areas where the riding surface of the street is missing due to failure of the asphalt. This is often the direct result of base failure due to standing water and the impact of vehicle tires result in hydraulic pumping. Since most potholes are caused by hydraulic pumping, be very careful when driving through standing water. Potholes often exist under standing water are often not visible to the approaching driver.
Potholes can cause serious damage to vehicles and are a priority to the Street Maintenance operations. If you notice a pothole, please call us at (661) 723-5985 and let us know the location. Street Maintenance typically responds to potholes repairs within 48 hours.
Road Failure
As Lancaster continues to grow, more and more utilities are required to be placed under our streets. Every attempt is made to minimize the disruption to the resident’s daily commute. As new infrastructure goes in, developers are required to trench into our streets in order to place the essential service of water, sewer, and power. These contractors are also required to backfill and compact these trenches once the utilities are installed and to repave the street. As diligent as the contractors and inspectors are to this task, we are not always perfect and inadequate compaction does sometimes exist.
This can result in minor to major road failure which requires Street Maintenance to repair the road base and surface. This requires crews to work in the street which requires the lane to be closed to traffic. We do our best to establish work zones and to place the appropriate early warning signs and traffic delineation. Always be extra careful when navigating your vehicle through a designated work zone. Our employees safety is paramount and we ask for your help in this area.
If you notice a location that appears to have road failure, please call us at (661) 723-5985 and let us know or click here to enter a service request. We will assess the location and schedule the repairs as appropriate.