The city will pay for the maintenance of the walks in some historic areas, even though they aren't wheelchair friendly.
By JON WILSON
Published December 3, 2003
ST. PETERSBURG - Hexagonal block sidewalks, the six-sided concrete plates bearing history's cachet, have become less the endangered symbol.
Settling an issue that had given rise to months-long fretting in some neighborhoods, the City Council decided in late November that the city should repair or replace hex block walks at no cost to the bordering property owner.
Moreover, said chief assistant city attorney Mark Winn, hex blocks must be used - not may be used - when an owner replaces a sidewalk in several neighborhoods deemed historic.
Those include sections of Roser Park, Old Southeast, Uptown, Historic Kenwood and Historic Old Northeast.
The council, which appropriated $50,000 to implement its hex policy, is expected Thursday to refine the boundaries defining the historic areas. In some cases, those boundaries may differ slightly from boundaries set by neighborhood associations, Winn said.
The council move apparently dissolves worry among hex block defenders that the city might price the plates out of reach, thus discouraging repair of hex sections - and thereby failing to protect a resource contributing to a neighborhood's historic character, a matter of pride in some of the city's older sections.
But one group's relief can be another's concern.
"As a matter of fact, hex blocks are not cherished by people with (wheelchairs) or walkers," said Virginia Littrell, the council member who represents the Old Northeast.
"The problem is, they need a flat surface."
Wally Dutcher, who heads the city's Committee to Advocate for Persons with Impairments, said the group endorsed a modified sidewalk design in which hexagonal designs are set in concrete "ribbon" sidewalks. Such designs have been used on several sidewalks in and near downtown.
CAPI also suggested laying hex blocks in a bed with stabilizing sides, possibly made of concrete.
"That way, their position wouldn't change over the course of the years," Dutcher said. Hex blocks that buckle and stick up above or below sidewalk level present a particular problem for people who use wheelchairs or walking aids.
"For a number of reasons, they crack, they settle because they're set in sand. . . . It's a maintenance issue for the city,' Dutcher said.
He said CAPI wouldn't fight the council decision, citing "political realities."
Littrell noted that to help people who have difficulty on sidewalks, the council has approved using concrete to make sloping curb cuts.
St. Petersburg has about 100 miles of hex block sidewalk, officials say. Most of it was installed before 1950, and many of the blocks were produced at Farmer Concrete Works, a St. Petersburg company that employed many blacks.
Federal officials see hex blocks as important elements when a neighborhood applies for historic designation. Old Northeast earned a spot on the National Register of Historic Places in February, and the Round Lake area of Uptown won its designation in October. Other neighborhoods are close to being named.
