Chip Sealing - Northside Schools Forum Update

City Streets Chip Sealing

I have been notified that a substantial number of District 12 streets will be "Chip Sealed" this year (see map above). 

Chip sealing is an important part of the City of Madison's Pavement Management Program. The benefits that the City of Madison and its residents will receive from the implementation of a chip sealing program include:

• Save the City of Madison and residents millions of dollars in pavement maintenance costs
• Waterproof the streets
• Protect the underlying pavement from oxidation, aging and traffic wear
• Seals small cracks and imperfections
• Extends the serviceable life of the streets

There are many benefits to chip sealing of streets; however there is one substantial draw-back: the application itself generates excessive gravel dust. We work with our contractors as best as possible to minimize this unfortunate side-affect that will be noticeable for a few weeks around the application time. You will also be provided more information when the actual application will occur so that you can plan accordingly.

Chip Sealing is Eco-Friendly

The City of Madison specifically uses aggregate or chips made from recycled materials that would otherwise be disposed in landfills. Black boiler slag, which is waste material from coal-fired power plants, is used to make the chips. It is cleaned and graded to meet City specifications.

The end product is a non-carcinogenic material that provides a new wearing surface and black pavement sealer for Madison's streets.

It's Cost Effective

Cost savings with chip sealing add up when compared with other road maintenance measures.

• Chip seal= $1.25 per square yard.
• Thin overlays= $12 per square yard.
• Resurfacing= $20-$25 per square yard.
• Reconstruction= $50-60 per square yard.

Chip sealing will save taxpayers $140 million over 45 years. Property owners are not charged for this long-term maintenance.

Residents affected by the chip sealing program application will receive further information about the program or view information online. 

Northside School Forum

I wanted to provide an update to my previous post about the Thursday, February 16 Northside School Forum. The location has been changed from Sherman Middle School to Gompers Elementary School 1502 Wyoming Way.

The idea for this forum came from a discussion that I hosted last year with the leaders of the District 12 neighborhood associations. There was interest in learning more about the elementary and middle schools in our community, how residents can connect with the schools and other ways that we can all work together to improve education for youth on the Northside.

For the past several months State Representative Melissa Sargent, Superintendent Cheatham and I have been meeting and discussing how we could work together to provide more information to Northside residents as well as engage the school district in the vital need to have exceptional schools for our students.

We've chosen an open forum concept. Superintendent Cheatham will begin with an overview of the various activities at the district and school level. Participants will then been invited to ask questions of the superintendent and officials present. Finally, you will have an opportunity to engage with staff and leadership at the individual school level.

Schedule

6:00 pm Presentation from Superintendent Cheatham on state of Northside schools

6:30 pm Q&A with large group

7:00 pm Individual School breakouts

Schools Engaged

• Emerson Elementary
• Gompers Elementary
• Lake View Elementary
• Lindbergh Elementary
• Mendota Elementary
• Black Hawk Middle
• Sherman Middle

MMSD will also be inviting families to this invite, but all members who care about what happens in our schools are invited to attend. Please pass along this invitation to anyone you think will be interested.