City renews annual contract with Precision Sidewalk Safety to repair trip hazards

Above is an example of the work Precision Sidewalk Safety Corporation does for the city. These before and after photos were taken at 2720 N.E. 27th Street in Ocala. [Images supplied]

The Ocala City Council approved the renewal of a one-year contract agreement with Precision Sidewalk Safety Corporation for concrete sidewalk trip hazard repairs on Tuesday, July 5, in the amount of $75,000. 

The current agreement is scheduled to begin on Aug. 1, 2022 and terminate on July 31, 2023. 

Precision Sidewalk Safety Corporation (PSSC) was first utilized by the City of Ocala in 2006. In 2015, the city decided to implement a regular, annual sidewalk asset maintenance program for its 242 miles of sidewalk within the city limits. 

According to the city, concrete sidewalks have a tendency to shift, settle and form offsets between concrete panels, causing trip hazards in the public right of way. 

A for-profit corporation, PSSC is charged with ensuring infrastructure, to include sidewalks, that are adjacent to public streets are “in compliance with applicable regulations,” according to the city agreement. 

Per the agreement, PSSC is the sole provider of a patented horizontal concrete cutting technique which “remediates hazardous changes in level, eradicates offsets entirely, and leaves a zero point of differential without markings or damage to adjacent landscape, hardscape, buildings, or walls.” 

Over the last six years, the city’s program has minimized liability and improved safety and aesthetics of its sidewalks, saving its tax paying residents over $1,165,000 compared to alternative methods, according to city documents.

Last year, according to the city, a total of 1,583 changes in level had been inventoried, documented and repaired on 11 miles of sidewalk through Ocala and in two of its parks. Since the inception of the annual program, the city and PSSC have inspected and repaired 9,464 hazards on 118.8 miles of sidewalk. 

For more information, call Darren Park, director of Public Works, at (352) 351-6733, Monday through Friday, from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.