It shall be the duty of the owner of any lot in front of which
or along which the sidewalk or footway has been ordained or laid out
under this article to cause the subgrade thereof to be properly compared,
as hereinafter provided, and immediately thereafter to construct and
cause to be laid thereon a pavement of well-mixed concrete, as hereinafter
specified, of not less than four feet in width and not less than four
inches in thickness, with steel reinforcement, and five inches without
steel reinforcement.
[Amended 11-14-1989 by Ord. No. 899]
A. Subgrade. A part or portion of all sidewalks which are to be paved
shall be subgraded to a sound hard base, and all soft or spongy places
shall be removed and all depressions filled with suitable material,
after which there shall be placed thereon five inches of 2B slag.
The subgrade, when completed, shall not be less than four inches below
the finished surface of the walk, and the finished surface shall be
one inch above the curb elevation at the curb and shall have a slope
towards the top of not less than 1/4 inch per foot.
B. Concrete pavement. Upon the proper subgrade, there shall be placed
a four-inch monolithic layer of well-tapped and well-mixed concrete,
mixed with the proportion by volume of one part portland cement of
a reputable brand, two parts clean sharp river sand and four parts
of clean river gravel, with sufficient clean water to produce consistency,
which shall be uniform and such that the mortar will cling to the
course aggregate. Retampering, that is, remixing mortar or concrete
that has been partially hardened with additional water, will not be
permitted, and all concrete must be well-spaded and tapped along the
forms, and all finished surfaces must be well-floated so that no course
aggregate shows and left rough, but will not be uneven.
C. Expansion joints. The slab or slab divisions shall be formed in separate
blocks with one-fourth-inch open joints. These slabs shall not exceed
36 square feet in area, and the open joint shall be packed with fine
sharp river sand. An extra expansion joint, consisting of prepared
strips of fiber matrix and bitumen (or other similar material of a
proof quality), must be provided in each 50 feet of walk and on all
return curbs. The extra expansion joints on walks shall be 1/2 inch
in thickness and on return curb shall be one inch in thickness and
shall extend to depths of concrete.
Upon the neglect of any owner of lots to comply with the requirements
as provided in the preceding sections of this article, the Borough
of Wilmerding may, after 15 days' notice as may be directed to
be given from the time by Council to such owner, cause grading, paving
and repairing of such sidewalks to be done at the cost of such owner
and may collect the costs thereof and 10% additional, together with
all charges and expenses, from such owner, and may file a municipal
claim therefor or collect the same by action in assumpsit.
The pavement of any sidewalk which has not been laid in conformity
with the provisions of this article and the established grade of street
on which it is constructed is hereby declared to be a nuisance and
must be taken up and relaid according to the provisions of this article
within 30 days after notice by Council to the owner of the lot fronting
thereon; and upon failure of said owner to regrade and flash or to
repave said sidewalk within the time stipulated herein, such owner
shall be liable to a fine to be collected for the use of the Borough
and which shall be paid into the Borough treasury, and the Borough
shall cause said sidewalk to be regraded and/or repaved in the matter
herein and thereby required and shall collect the costs thereof, together
with all charges and expenses, from the owner of said lot as aforesaid
according to law in this article.
No pavement of any sidewalk heretofore laid with material which
is not in conformity with that prescribed by this article shall be
permitted to be repaired, whenever in the opinion of the Council of
the Borough such pavement becomes in such a condition that it should
be repaired, but should be replaced; then the owner of the lot fronting
thereon shall cause such sidewalk to be repaved in accordance with
the provisions of this article within 30 days after notice of the
Borough Council; and upon the neglect of any owner of lots to repave
such sidewalk in accordance with the requirements of this article
within said thirty-day period, the Borough shall cause said walk to
be repaved and the costs thereof and 10% additional, together with
all charges and expenses, shall be collected by the Borough from the
owner according to the law in this article.