City Honors Public Works Department With National Public Works Week

Press release from the City of Peoria:

May 15, 2020

From managing the rainwater that flows off of your roof to the streets plowed clear from snow – the power of the City’s Public Works Department is at play.

This National Public Works Week runs May 17-23, and the City is highlighting the reach of our crews and the impact their work has on the health, safety and productivity of Peoria.

“Improving and maintaining our infrastructure is imperative to the well being and functionality of our civilization,” said Public Works Director, Rick Powers. “Infrastructure impacts each one of us. It provides frequently overlooked essential services that we cannot live without. It keeps us connected and progressing as a community.”

While the impact the Department has made on the City is visible in every pocket of our community, many of our resident customers are unaware of the scope of the behind the scenes work. Public Works has a hand in thousands of underground touch points, including the combined sewer system and communication cabling which are melded into our daily lives.

In 2019 alone, Public Works received and processed 9,888 service requests. That includes requests for things such as street and traffic light repairs, sidewalk upgrades and pothole patching.

The following is a list of ways Public Works is impacting your life in our City:

Operations and Maintenance

• 20,000 potholes filled each year on average.
• 157 miles of routed streets plowed each year.
• 321 miles of non-routed streets plowed each year.
• 800-900 vacant lots mowed and maintained.
• 2,500 inlets inspected/cleaned.
• 5 miles of pipes televised.
• 970 tons of debris removed following seven street sweepings.

Roadway System

• 478 miles of center-lane streets.
• 90 miles of alleyways.
• 683 dead-end streets and cul-de-sacs.

Traffic System

• 243 traffic signals.
• 7,497 streetlights and lamps.
• 28,000 traffic signs.
• 38 traffic flasher and pedestrian beacons.
• 55 miles of communication cabling.

Parking System

• 626 on-street parking meters.
• 800 downtown parking spaces in parking lots.
• 2,711 spaces combined between four parking garages.

Stormwater Sewer System

• 562 outfalls.
• 130 miles of mapped storm sewers.
• 50 miles of streams flowing through the City.
• 2,400 inlets (separated storm sewer systems).

Stormwater Utility:

• Approximately 1,034 appeals reviewed.

Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) System

• 8 square miles in the CSO area.
• 16 sites susceptible to reoccurring overflows each year.
• An average of 25 overflows each year.
• 3,500 inlets and catch basins (combined sewer systems).

Engineering

• Manages 15-20 Community Investment Projects each year involving roadway reconstruction, pavement preservation and sidewalk improvements.
• 200 right-of-way permits issued annually.
• Around 700 right-of-way permit inspections annually.

Trash, Yard Waste and Recycling

• 38,800 trash customers produced 36,350 tons of trash and 21,700 yards of yard waste in 2019.
• 15,338 recycling customers produced 2,600 tons of recycling in 2019.

Facility Maintenance

• 48 facilities maintained including Peoria City Hall, Police Headquarters and Fire Station Central.
• 1.5 million square feet of building space.
• 1,936 service requests in 2019
• 60 acres of riverfront maintained.

Urban Forestry and Sustainability

• 115 trees removed annually.
• 115 trees planted throughout the City each year.
• 400 trees trimmed in 2019.

Autobody Repairs and Maintenance

• Over 450 pieces of equipment, (including police department patrol vehicles and fire department apparatus) serviced annually on a rotational basis.
• 150 oil changes per month on average.

“Every community has a rhythm and a heartbeat that reflects its essence and tempo of life,” said Powers. “This week and every week, we hope our residents can think about the work Public Works performs as a symphony of essential services, coming together in concert to create a great place to live.”

More Information
This year’s National Public Works Week theme is, “The Rhythm of Public Works.” The awareness week is governed by the American Public Works Association which shares the value and necessities of public works projects. Just as the theme suggests, public works keeps a community’s rhythm moving by providing an orchestra of infrastructure services in transportation, wastewater, and stormwater treatment, public buildings and spaces, parks, solid waste and right-of-way management.

Public works provides the harmony needed for collaboration with all the stakeholders in capital projects, infrastructure solutions, in public safety and quality of life services. Learn more about our mission at peorgiagov.org/public-works and track our projects and progress on nextdoor.com or the Nextdoor mobile app.

This press release was produced by the City of Peoria. The views expressed here are the author’s own.