Column: Hamilton’s 17Strong Neighborhoods Summit taught me about the streets paving process

I was going to cover the inaugural 17Strong Neighborhoods Summit as a routine news article to inform readers about the event itself. But I left it with so much more knowledge as a resident instead of a journalist and wanted to share from a first-person perspective.

I’m a lifelong Hamilton resident and live in the Washington neighborhood. Like some locals have experienced, the term “17Strong” was something I started seeing at events and on publications by the City a couple years ago, but I wasn’t clear on what it was.

ExplorePHOTOS: Inaugural 17Strong Neighborhoods Summit in Hamilton

The initiative aims to put focus on simply being neighborly. There are 17 identified neighborhoods within city limits and this group wants us to unify, because that brings out leaders and more direct support for each other and our direct communities.

Mallory Greenham, assistant to Hamilton City Manager Joshua Smith, addressed the crowd of hundreds at the summit on Saturday to talk about what some of the city’s neighborhoods are doing. (She was anxious to get to the Highland Park yard sales following the summit.) On Friday she had participated in “Paddle to Work Day” during which a number of locals canoed on the Great Miami River ahead of going into their places of business.

“I got to see our community from the riverfront, which was new for me,” Greenham said as she talked about the experience of meeting new people and participating in something that didn’t require permits or a committee to do.

That seemed to be a big part of the summit’s goal: To encourage people to organize activities for groups and neighborhoods. There was emphasis on the ability to do many things for free or low cost, and to show that 17Strong is available to provide support with people, and sometimes, grants.

Movie nights and kickball games are examples of what neighbors can come together to do, and 17Strong can help get those organized.

Greenham showed images of communities coming together for a purpose, such as a clean-up along Pleasant Avenue in Lindenwald and the lighting of sidewalks with luminaries at the holidays in Random Hills. That area is part of the Washington neighborhood, according to the 17Strong map.

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She also showed a house on Webster Street (in Prospect Hill, a couple streets over from Kettering Health Hamilton) that has every inch of its property covered with decorations at Halloween and Christmas. Her point was there are fun things happening all around Hamilton making it a community where folks want to be, and want to know their neighbors.

The overarching theme: Individuals can and should step up and organize things.

The summit eventually offered optional breakout sessions. I attended one most journalists would choose: I saw on the agenda Hamilton Police Chief Craig Bucheit was on the panel for “Why Does It Take So Long: Solving Problems Where We Live.”

While Bucheit addressed issues of crime and drug use, it was Senior Civil Engineer Pat Yingling who really taught me some things: I learned the soil is different on the west and east sides of the Great Miami River in Hamilton, and that is a factor in the condition of our roads. He was asked whether there is favor for one side of the river over the other when it comes to roadwork prioritization, and Yingling firmly said “no.”

It was 2020 when the city’s voters passed a 10-year, $31 million streets levy. About $3 million per year is being spent on resurfacing the roads and redoing curbs, and so far it has been 2 to 2.5 miles annually, Yingling said. It takes some time to get to all of them — there are 250 miles of roads in Hamilton — and Yingling offered an explanation of how they choose the order of the work:

Public input: There have been opportunities on multiple platforms to choose streets you would like to see paved (including by postal mail). The most convenient option is the MyHamilton 311 app that residents may download and use on smart devices. Inside the app, click “streets levy input” and “take the survey now.” You will also see the current projects list and frequently asked questions.
Overall condition: Like us, the folks in our public works department live, work and play here. They travel many of the same roads and know from personal experience which roads are taking a toll on our vehicles.
Proximity: If there are multiple roads near each other requiring work, the city aims to bid projects together to save money and time.
Traffic volume: Heavier use of vehicles means more wear and tear. The City pays attention to this and acts accordingly.
Outside funding: The State of Ohio offers about 80% of what’s required to fix state routes every 15 years These get set aside for when state assistance is offered.

Yingling, who has had a hand in the city’s roadwork for 17 years, said something obvious but worth much repeating: We live in an old city. Time has caused a huge need for underground infrastructure work. So road paving is following utility work that has to happen first.

I live on a street that has been repaved. Here’s how it went:

I first saw the City trucks on the cul-de-sac and spray paint markings were made everywhere. It was extremely colorful on our old street.
Next was the breaking up of sidewalks and sewers. That was a huge project by itself — there was a lot of concrete and caution tape for a bit. From personal experience, I caution folks to watch for stray pets sniffing around these areas because they can be dangerous, leaving gaps until the work is finished. The City makes sure people are aware.
Then came the removal of the old roadway and the creation of new, amazing curbs that provide better access for people in wheelchairs or with strollers. As a person who walks her dog a lot I was very happy to see these curbs expand and have safer slope.
The final paving was amazing: We were allowed to drive on it immediately thanks to whatever miracle mixture gets used to make our streets. The workers also reinforced the sewer lids on the roadway.

Those doing the work were gracious regarding traffic woes for residents. Yingling pointed out in the summit session that there is nearly no way to avoid traffic headaches during this process. He is right: I had to drive through a neighbor’s yard once to get out, but overall they were super helpful in moving equipment to allow folks through. We just had to nudge them if we were in a hurry.

The entire process was nearly 6 months on our road.

One not-so-positive side of it is the unavoidable: Months after the work was done came the invoice for sidewalk work. Some neighbors are paying more than others depending on what sidewalk repair work was completed. For my home’s portion, two squares of the sidewalk were affected and the tab was $300.

Overall, the neighborhoods summit was a complete success: Leaders heard from residents, business owners shared their stories and there were ideas offered for the future. Director of Economic Development Brandon Saurber thanked people for attending and said he will be buzzing for weeks after the summit.

I made two new friends that I’ll be meeting for a meal at a local restaurant sometime soon.

If you didn’t know about this event, you will have an opportunity to go next time: The City and 17Strong plan for this to be an annual activity.