Charleston residents may be in for fewer bumpy rides in the coming months.

The city hopes to improve portions of Polk Avenue, Division Street and Second Street by the end of the summer.

The areas specifically targeted are Polk Avenue between Division Street and Sixth Street, Division Street between Harrison Avenue and State Street, and Second Street between Lincoln Avenue and Pierce Road.

All three streets will be widened, resurfaced and given new curbs and gutters. They will also have new sidewalks paved, get new driveways for the occupying properties and have a new approach paved for intersecting streets.

Mayor John Inyart said these three streets were “identified as the worst, narrowest, next-for-attention sites in the area.”

Curt Buescher, director of Public Works, cited the spot on Second Street as particularly important.

“Because it’s right next to the park, you’ve got some aesthetic reasons for that one,” Buescher said. “You’ve got a lot of pedestrian activity there during the warm months.”

The city is waiting to have its plans approved by the Illinois Board of Transportation before contractors can start bidding.

Buescher said he hopes to see work start sometime this month and end in July.

Before the year’s end, the city also plans to patch, resurface and rework the shoulder on Harrison Avenue between 18th Street and Lincoln Avenue.

Also on the agenda for this year is patching and drainage work on Fourth Street between Coolidge Avenue and Hickory Lane. However, Buescher said because of right-away purchase, utility relocation and possible tree removal, the project may have to wait until next year.

“It’s going to take literally a year to sort through all those issues,” Buescher said.