Repair work on trip hazards on the Town of Bel Air's sidewalks is scheduled to start early to mid-August, but the repairs can't come soon enough for bicycle rider John Jackson.
"This whole place needs to be redone," a frustrated Jackson said late Sunday afternoon as he rode his bike along South Main Street.
Jackson has spent years riding to and from the Outback Steakhouse restaurant on Baltimore Pike, where he works as a cook, dishwasher and truck loader, to his home near Bel Air Middle School.
He said he has had to replace his bike tires, worn down by the bumps and divots on the town sidewalks, which he said are "down there, everywhere, every place," as he waved his hands.
Jackson also wants the town to put in bike lanes so he does not have to ride on the narrow, and heavily-traveled, sidewalks.
"We can't have this around here," he said.
The town's Department of Public Works will oversee next month the first phase of repairing more than 780 documented trip hazards along Bel Air's sidewalks.
The Bel Air Board of Town Commissioners recently approved a $49,680 contract with Precision Concrete Cutting, of Wilmington, Del., for the first phase.
"As concrete sidewalk ages and it's affected by external forces, panels often heave or settle, causing an un-level or an uneven joint, ultimately cause tripping hazards," Public Works Director Steve Kline said during the July 18 town meeting.
Kline said 785 trip hazards on sidewalk panels and 129 linear feet of trip hazards along curbs have been identified in the downtown area. The sidewalk repair program is a "multi-year program," he said.
"I think all our morning walkers and runners, that have reported 750 of these hazards, will be very well pleased," Mayor Susan Burdette said.
Kline said later that he expects work to start on the first phase during the first or second week of August.
The work area will be downtown between Gordon Street on the north end, Fulford Avenue on the south end, Hickory Avenue to the east and Bond Street to the west, with additional work along Kenmore Avenue, Heighe Street and South Main Street to and from Bel Air High School, Kline wrote in an email.
Kline said the repair program should last six to eight years, depending on funding. DPW also plans to enter completed repairs into electronic GIS maps and post the results on the town's website.
When walking along Hickory Avenue and then down Main Street Sunday, cracks, panels that are raised about 1 inch above an adjoining panel, and spots along the curb and sidewalk where pieces of concrete appear to have been gouged out, were visible.
The sidewalks along Main Street were also bustling with bike riders, skateboarders and walkers. Many pedestrians were engrossed in the Pokemon Go smartphone game.
"That's probably a good idea, especially with everyone playing Pokemon Go," said Amanda Tyska, a Bel Air South resident, said of the planned repairs. "Especially with open-toed shoes in the summer, it's easier to catch on the lip of an uneven sidewalk."
She and her friend and co-worker, Brian Gefrich, of Abingdon, were among the Pokemon players. They strolled up North Main, checking their smartphones and taking in the downtown atmosphere.
"I like waking around down here a lot," Tyska, who moved to Harford County from Bucks County, Pa., in May, said. "It's the best place nearby to just casually spend some time outdoors."
Gefrich said he has not experienced major trip hazards when walking in downtown Bel Air, "but they do exist."
"I have a little girl; she goes running up and down where we come here," he said. "There have been some places that caught her foot."
Jake Rolocut, 15, of Bel Air, walked along South Main near the intersection with Fulford with his friend and Bel Air High School classmate, 15-year-old Jacob Kuegler.
Both boys were playing Pokemon Go.
"They could use a little bit of improvement, I guess," Jake said of the town sidewalks. 'But, for the most part, if you're paying attention you should be fine."