If you live or work in Buffalo, or even visit the city often, you know about the condition of the streets.
Some are good. Some aren’t.
Each year, the Buffalo Public Works Department tackles resurfacing a number of city streets. The kick-off of the 2017 repaving campaign was in late May.
Mayor Byron Brown and DPW Commissioner Steven Stepniak announced sections of some 75 streets would receive work this year. Total expenditure on street repairs for 2017, about $27-million.
When asked how the city decides which streets to repave, that’s when Stepniak disclosed the DPW gives a grade of 1-to-10 for every city street. That information helps the department decide which streets get the work.
So, 2 On-Your-Side asked for the data through a Freedom of Information request. After two-months of wrangling with city officials, we finally obtained a copy.
Below is the translation of what the numerical grades mean to the DPW. It is common for one street to be graded differently at different points. Look for the nearest number inside the red box to get the best idea of what grade that section of the street received.
And please, let us know what you think. Was your street graded correctly? We will follow-up soon to answer as many of your questions as we can.