At a bilingual candidate forum, Holyoke council candidates described an extensive backlog of road and sidewalk repairs and urged more strategic use of state and local funding.

Meg McGrath Smith, Ward 7 city councilor, said an engineering rating showed the city’s average road condition at 70 and estimated nearly 70 roads needed paving. “We only paved 6 roads in the city this year. And we really have almost 70 that need to be paved,” McGrath Smith said, arguing the city must balance taxpayer costs with needed investment and help residents navigate combined-sewer construction that will affect streets over the next three to four years.

Candidates across other wards raised similar infrastructure concerns. Juan Anderson Bocles, the Ward 6 councilor, cited sidewalks and road conditions tied to public-safety risks and recommended pursuing Chapter 90 funds, a state transportation aid program, while coordinating departments on a prioritized plan. “One of the key things I think about when it comes to funding, I think about chapter 90 money,” Bocles said.

Several candidates said more transparent, professionalized processes for prioritizing work would reduce the appearance of uneven attention across neighborhoods. No specific funding allocations were proposed at the forum; candidates pointed to Chapter 90 funds and community- or state-level grants as possible sources.