After seeking input from neighborhood associations about residential streets in Jackson that need improvements, a working group of the One Percent Sales Tax Commission plans to sort out what to do next.
The commission agreed at its February meeting that residential streets should be its next priority and plans for a working group, composed of any commission member who wants to be involved, to determine how to proceed, said Pete Perry, a member of the commission.
The commission has overseen about 200 lane miles of improvements to the city’s 2,200 lane miles of streets, Perry said. A mile-long street with two lanes counts as two lane miles.
Most of the road improvements have been to major thoroughfares such as North State Street, although the commission in its early days funded work on some residential streets scattered here and there.
Earlier this year the commission asked neighborhood groups to submit streets for improvements. Perry didn’t know how many groups provided names of streets, but it was “a bunch.”
Neighborhood associations have no guarantee the list of streets submitted will be improved, he said, because factors such as whether a street needs additional infrastructure repairs would come into play.
Dana F. Robertson, executive director of the Greater Eastover Neighborhood Foundation, believes the commission’s plan to prioritize repairs according to specific criteria sounds fair.
“Some degree of subjectivity will come into play, but given the fact that the commissioners are appointed by the mayor, the governor and the chamber of commerce, I think they bring different skill sets and perspectives to the decision-making process, making it as fair as possible,” she said.
Sally Birdsall, executive director of the Massena Heights Homeowners Association, is grateful the commission is willing to focus on Jackson’s crumbling neighborhood streets.
“Pete Perry first proposed this undertaking to JXNUNITED in May 2018,” she said. “I appreciate his tenacity and desire to help.”
Every street in Massena Heights could benefit from resurfacing, she said.
“In many areas the asphalt is in an advanced state of deterioration leaving the subgrade, the dirt underneath the pavement, exposed,” Birdsall said. “Rainwater and vehicular traffic exacerbate the erosion.”
Portions of Crestwood Drive, Culleywood Road and Massena Drive are in terrible shape, Birdsall said. “I don’t believe the entire street needs to be surfaced in each case but certainly extended sections,” she said.
Robertson regularly contacts the city of Jackson and Hinds County about potholes and other infrastructure issues.
“Dogwood Drive needs some resurfacing, and there are areas where it has also eroded,” she said. “There is a section of Lake Circle near Dogwood Drive that needs resurfacing. There is a portion of Sandridge Drive that needs repairing and resurfacing due to tree roots that have caused large ridges in the asphalt. Also, Meadowbrook Road needs resurfacing from Ridgewood Road to the gates of Meadowbrook Lakes, which includes the portion of Meadowbrook that runs through Eastover as well as several other neighborhoods.”
Multiple streets in Ridgewood Park are in dire need of resurfacing, said Ken Wilson, president of the Ridgewood Park Neighborhood Association.
He believes the resulting work will pay off not just with smoother streets but with citizens expanding their knowledge of how funds are spent and even more.
“Resurfacing in our neighborhood would contribute to the beautification and ignite development ideas,” Wilson said.
Liz Brister, president of the Fondren Renaissance Foundation, agrees with Wilson that improvements to the city streets can make a difference.
“Resurfacing our city streets improves the quality of life and raises property values when combined with sidewalks, bike lanes and other traffic calming measures.,” she said.
Andy Frame, a board member of the Jackson Association of Neighborhoods who is the executive director of Revitalize Mississippi, an organization that focuses on cleanup and other improvements in low-income Jackson neighborhoods, said his work takes him throughout the city, including neighborhoods that have craters in the road that make it almost impossible to go around the
“When one of those streets gets repaired, it changes the environment,” he said. “It makes you feel good. It’s great they’re going to do work in the neighborhoods and have repaired the main roads. That’s a great plan.”
Members of the commission are Jackson Mayor Antar Chokwe Lumumba, city of Jackson Chief Financial Officer Fidelis Malembeka, city of Jackson Chief Administrative Officer Louis Wright, Duane O’Neill, Wilson Hood, Jonathan Lee, Carlyn Hicks, Michael Boerner, Ted Duckworth and Perry.
Lumumba serves at the commission chair.
