City of Middletown, NY Article IX Curb and Sidewalk Construction

[Adopted 3-22-1954 (Ch. 24 of the 1971 Code)

§ 416-33 Materials for concrete sidewalks.

Materials for the construction of concrete sidewalks and curbs shall consist of the following:

A. Cement.

(1) Cement shall be true portland cement and shall meet the requirements of the current Standard Specifications and Tests for Portland Cement adopted by the American Society for Testing Materials.

(2) Cement shall be natural cement similar to that manufactured at Rosendale, New York.

B. Fine aggregate. Fine aggregate shall consist of sand having hard, strong, durable grains and shall be free from injurious amounts of dust, lumps, soft or flaky particles, shale, alkali and surface coatings and shall not contain injurious amounts of vegetable or other organic matter. Fine aggregate shall range in size from fine to coarse within the following limits:

(1) Passing through a No. 4 sieve, not less than 85%.

(2) Passing through a No. 50 sieve, not more than 30%.

C. Coarse aggregate. Coarse aggregate shall consist of crushed stone, gravel or other approved inert material with similar characteristics, or combinations thereof, having hard, strong, durable particles free from injurious amounts of soft, friable, thin elongated or laminated pieces, alkali or organic or other harmful matter. Coarse aggregate shall range in size from fine to coarse within the following limits:

(1) Passing through a one-inch sieve, not less than 95%.

(2) Passing through a No. 4 sieve, not more than 15%.

(3) Passing through a No. 8 sieve, not more than 5%.

D. Water. Water shall be clear and free from oil, acid, alkali, organic matter or other deleterious substances. It shall preferably be equal in all physical and chemical properties to potable water.

§ 416-34 Materials for stone curbing and sidewalks.

Materials for the construction of stone curbing and sidewalks shall be as follows.

A. Stone used for flag sidewalks shall be not less than two inches thick nor less than five feet wide, and each stone shall contain at least 10 square feet. Stone shall be bluestone and of good quality.

B. Stone for curb shall be not less than four inches thick and a good grade of uniformity. The depth of the curb shall be not less than 16 inches and the length of the stone shall be not less than three feet.

C. All stone used in the construction of sidewalks and curbing shall be approved by the Commissioner of Public Works.

§ 416-35 Construction of sidewalks of asphaltic materials.

[Amended 8-8-1960]

A. The construction of sidewalks of asphaltic materials, wherever permitted under this article, shall be of materials which meet specifications Item No. 53, as set up by the New York State Department of Public Works. The areas to be occupied by the sidewalk shall be graded five feet in width for the entire length of the improvement; screeds shall be installed at the sidewalk elevation.

B. In no instance will approval be given to raise or lower the established grade of the walk. The new asphaltic surface shall be leveled between screeds.

C. Two-inch thickness of asphaltic material shall be applied over four inches of shale or compacted gravel. In lieu of shale or gravel, base asphaltic material may be applied over cobblestone, existing flagstone or solid concrete, grades permitting.

D. No sidewalk of asphaltic material will be constructed without obtaining approval of the Commissioner of Public Works and after the issuance of a permit for said sidewalk. The fee for issuance of sidewalk permit shall be $3.

§ 416-36 Construction of concrete sidewalks and curbs.

The construction of concrete sidewalks and curbs shall be as follows:

A. Sidewalk.

(1) The area to be occupied by the sidewalk shall be graded five feet in width for entire length of the improvement. A foundation four inches thick shall be placed, of clean gravel or broken stone not over two inches in size, or clean, soft coal cinders, well tamped or rolled.

(2) Frames of the same height as the thickness of the walls shall be placed to outline the external edges of the walk and set to conform to the established line and grade of the walk.

(3) Concrete shall be mixed in the following proportions by volume:

(a) One part portland and natural cement.

(b) Two parts fine aggregate.

(c) Four parts coarse aggregate.

(d) Five bags of portland and one bag of natural cement per cubic yard of concrete. Note: In lieu of the use of natural cement, air-entraining cement or air-entraining agent such as pozzolith added to the portland cement may be used. Any dispersing agent shall be used in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions.

(4) Each concrete flagstone shall be five feet in width, not more than five feet in length, and shall be four inches thick throughout, except at driveways where the depth shall be increased to six inches. The finished surface of the walk shall have a slope of 1/4 inch per foot toward the curb. Each concrete flagstone shall be separated from the next flagstone by a joint made with tarpaper, and expansion joints 1/2 inch in width, filled with bituminous material, shall be placed at intervals not greater than 50 feet.

(5) The wearing surface of the walk shall be finished with a wooden float and lightly broomed. The exterior sides and joints shall be finished smooth with a split float or split roller.

(6) When concrete walk is finished, it shall be kept covered and moist for at least three days.

B. Curb.

(1) Concrete curb shall be the same mix as for sidewalks and shall be five inches in thickness and at least 20 inches in depth, and it shall be separated at five-foot intervals by installing premolded expansion-jointing material, such as asphalt paper.

(2) The surface of the curb shall be edged and covered for at least three days.

(3) Concrete shall not be mixed or placed when the temperature is below 35° F. or conditions otherwise unfavorable for good work.

(4) Hand mixing shall be done on a watertight platform. The cement and fine aggregate shall be first mixed thoroughly, then the coarse aggregate added and again thoroughly mixed before any water is added.

(5) Machine mixing shall be done in an approved batch mixer which will ensure a uniform distribution of the materials throughout the mass. The mixer shall be equipped with suitable charging hopper, water storage and measuring device. The entire contents of the drum shall be discharged before recharging. The mixing of each batch shall continue not less than one minute after all the materials are in the mixer, during which time the mixer shall rotate at a peripheral speed of about 200 feet per minute. The volume of the mixed material per batch shall not exceed the manufacturer's rated capacity of the mixer.

(6) Retempering of concrete is strictly forbidden.

§ 416-37 Construction of stone flagging and curbing.

The construction of stone flagging and curbing shall be as follows:

A. The sidewalk shall be flagged with stone not less than two inches thick, nor less than five feet wide, no stone to contain less than 10 square feet. Said flag shall be well laid in sand or fine gravel, on a grade and line on front edge of curb, and on an ascending slant toward the inside of said walk of 1/4 inch to a foot. The walk adjacent to the curb shall be two inches above the curb. No joint is to be over three-eighths-inch opening.

B. The curbstone shall be free from taper and seams, not less than four inches thick and as near uniform as possible, nor less than 20 inches wide and three feet long, dressed on two faces, the ends for a depth of one foot from the top to be truly squared and dressed so that when laid the pieces shall abut truly against each other, with joints not to exceed three-eighths-inch opening. Such curb shall be set with proper inclination and well laid in fine gravel or sand and on a bed of six inches of such material.

§ 416-38 Ramps.

[Amended 11-24-1954; 5-28-1956; 9-24-1956]

A. Request for permission to construct ramps exceeding 20 feet in length shall be submitted to the Common Council for determination; if the Council shall approve such a request, the project shall be completed within 90 working days after such approval. Ramps under 20 feet in length may be constructed of either concrete or asphaltic materials and shall extend no more than 24 inches from the curb, except where the sidewalk is more than 24 inches from the curbing, then said ramp may extend to the sidewalk. A gutter shall be formed along the curbing by raising the ramp a minimum of two inches at this point.

[Amended 12-26-1956]

B. The Commissioner of Public Works may at his own discretion permit the profile of the ramp and sidewalk section through a driveway to be changed so that the curb side of the sidewalk may be lowered as much as two inches, permitting better access to driveways.

[Added 3-11-1968]

C. Ramps heretofore and hereafter constructed in excess of 20 feet in length shall be plainly marked with a painted white line indicating the inside edge of the walk. Such white line shall be painted approximately seven feet from the edge of the gutter or on line with existing sidewalks, and for all purposes this will constitute a regularly constructed sidewalk.

§ 416-39 Establishment of grades.

Grades for sidewalks and curbing will be established and furnished by the Department of Public Works.

§ 416-40 Exemptions.

[Added 2-13-1979]

The dimensions for sidewalks as hereinbefore set forth may be dispensed with upon application to the Commissioner of Public Works for good cause shown where the strict compliance with this article would create hardship or where a decrease in size would be beneficial to the flow of vehicular traffic.[1]

[1] Editor's Note: Former Art. X, Sidewalk Obstruction, adopted 12-13-1954 (Ch. 102, Art. I of the 1971 Code), as amended, which immediately followed this section, was repealed 5-17-2011. See now § 475-28A for regulations concerning sidewalk sales.