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Board talks sidewalks

Posted on January 14, 2010January 14, 2010 by Staff

By Beth Mechum
Staff Writer

CARRBORO – With project costs now exceeding bond funding for the Carrboro sidewalk program, some projects along Estes Drive will be cut. At its Tuesday night meeting at Town Hall, the board of aldermen discussed which projects to pursue.

Public Works Director George Seiz suggested building a sidewalk from Hillcrest Avenue to North Greensboro Street that would be narrower than the one presented in the plan last November and cost about $55,000 less.

Carrboro transportation planner Jeff Brubaker then presented four alternatives that would be cheaper still: a Wilson Park multi-use path that would provide safe passage for pedestrians and bicyclists to Estes Drive, a multi-use path on Hillcrest Avenue, a multi-use path on Pleasant Drive and a path connecting Crest Drive to Estes Park Apartments.

Brubaker said that having a sidewalk that runs from Carrboro Elementary to a residential area that is up to a mile and a half away and doesn’t cross a four-lane road or railroad most likely would mean the apartment complex would be designated a walk zone for the school, with no bus service provided.

Several aldermen expressed concern for how this would affect families with young children.

“As much as I love the idea of kids walking to school, there are a lot of families in Estes Park that are fairly low-income, and I wonder if not having the bus service could have a really negative effect on their work schedule,” Alderman Jacquie Gist said. “The unintended consequences need to be explored.”

Mayor Mark Chilton suggested that a positive aspect of being in an official walk zone would be that a family could not be redistricted to another school.

After the presentation and some discussion among the aldermen, the board passed a resolution to consider all options. The town will seek feedback from the affected neighborhoods and then may schedule a public hearing.

“A public hearing doesn’t lend itself to understanding and sort of contemplating the options,” said Alderman Joal Hall Brown. “There should be a community meeting first for the people who are directly impacted.”
In other action the board awarded a bid for bus shelter installations to W.C. Construction Company in the amount of $62,171 and endorsed the town’s application for a Fit Community designation.

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