LIVERMORE FALLS — Some residents of Pine Avenue do not want a sidewalk to be removed during road work, according to Town Manager Kristal Flagg.
The road is 40 feet wide and is off Moose Hill Road.
The road is hard to maneuver for plow trucks and sidewalk plows, because many of the residents have built stonewalls or retaining walls or landscaped to the edge of the road, which is in the town’s right-of-way, she said. Plus the road is steep and there is a drop off.
The town owns 20 feet either side of the centerline.
The road has become narrower over the years.
“The road is a nightmare in the wintertime,” Flagg said.
In order to fix the road, the sidewalk would need to be removed to make the road wider and more passable for plow trucks and emergency vehicles.
The problem is the sidewalk is not compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, Flagg said.
The big thing with the sidewalk is a steep drop-off at the beginning of the road and it would need work, including a railing if the repaving project is started, Public Works Foreman Bill Nichols said.
“My thinking was dollars and cents,” he told selectmen Tuesday. “I can’t see spending money on it when hardly anybody uses it.”
Residents do not want to lose their walls, Flagg said.
If the sidewalk is removed, a curbing would be put in place, she said. She added that she did not know that when some of the residents came to see her.
When the town paves road, the roads to be done are in the same area so the paving contractor does not have to travel all over town to set up.
Nichols said he planned to scrap Pine Avenue this year due to getting a late start on road work since several articles on the town budget did not pass in June but did in mid-July. The public works budget was one of them.
Selectmen Chairman Bill Demaray suggested there be a hearing or information meeting prior to the project being done so residents will know what is going to happen.
“We need to do what it takes to make it safe for everybody,” he said.
Nichols said letters were sent out.
“If we don’t touch the sidewalk then there will be no change but if we touch it, we have to make it Americans with Disabilities Act-accessible,” Flagg said.
dperry@sunjournal.com
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.