The cost of repairs to a Salisbury Township street residents complained about may be included in the 2019 township budget.

The street in question is Nottingham Road, roughly from 24th Street to Overhill Road, on the western portion of Lehigh Parkway North.

“That needs to be repaired,” Connie Wert said, a Lehigh Parkway North resident, at the Aug. 23 Salisbury Township Board of Commissioners’ meeting.

“We’re just going into the budget deliberations,” Salisbury Township Director of Public Works John Andreas said. “That’s going to be a part of it.

“The only thing you can do is remove the concrete,” Andreas said, referring to the street’s base substance material.

“For the most part, we don’t do much reconstruction,” Andreas said. “That will be a bigger budget item and it will be contracted out.

“We’ll do something in the short term,” Andreas added.

“Much of the failure has to do with water,” Andreas continued.

He said road construction in Pennsylvania historically utilized the concept of a road crown with a roadside swale. Over the years, many of the swales were filled in for aesthetic reasons and ease of grass-mowing. A swale is a lower area of ground surface utilized for the draining of stormwater.

“A lot of the roadside swales were filled in,” Andreas said.

“We have 80 miles of roadway in the township in very similar conditions,” Andreas said. “We look to stabilize them.

“The storms we’ve been having haven’t been typical. It’s been two to three inches in several hours. And that just cuts into the roadway,” Andreas said.

Also at the Aug. 23 meeting, several Lehigh Parkway North residents complained about lawn service companies blowing leaves into streets.

“The leaves are not supposed to be in the cartway [street right-of-way],” Andreas said. “I don’t know why landscapers think they can do that.”

Some of the residents said they drop off leaves at the township recycling center.

“Franko [Farm Park recycling center] is the only drop-off center where you can drop off leaves,” board of commissioners Vice President Debra Brinton said.

“How about if the recycling center can be open every weekend?” Fred Wert, a Lehigh Parkway North resident, asked.

“Maybe we’ll look to extending hours for recycling at Franko,” Andreas said.

“We’ll have to meet and see if we can come up with some solution,” Salisbury Township MS4 Coordinator, Building Code Enforcement Officer, Assistant Zoning Officer and Building Inspector Sandy Nicolo said.

At the Aug. 9 township meeting, Commissioner Joanne Ackerman recommended Monday and Thursday evening hours be added to the month of August for the township recycling centers.

Ackerman said there should be new signs at the centers and a three-sided enclosure for recycling center workers to sit in during inclement weather.

Ackerman also said the leaf drop-off option should be added to the Devonshire recycling center.

Ackerman recommended adding a ramp for the grass bins because, she said, it’s difficult for residents and workers to dump the grass.

Salisbury Township Manager Cathy Bonaskiewich said she would follow up but that the container rules are very specific.

The job description for drop-off center operators was discussed.

Bonaskiewich noted employees are to check IDs for township residency, assist residents and not allow drop-offs by commercial contractors.

Township Chief of Police Allen W. Stiles said the township police department would again be assisting with traffic enforcement for the Via Marathon Sept. 9 along its route through the township.

In other business at the Aug. 23 meeting, commissioners voted unanimously 5-0 to approve the final payment, Payment No. 7, of $20,988.80 to In Line Services, LLC for the 2017 water meter replacement project.

The township board of commissioners next meets 7 p.m. Sept. 13 in the township municipal building, 2900 S. Pike Ave.