NORWAY – Tucker Street will get a sidewalk next fall, but residents say they want to know exactly how the project will affect their properties.
During a public hearing Thursday night by selectmen, about 20 residents of Tucker Street, between Beal and Alpine streets, were told that the sidewalk will probably go on the south side of the road.
They were presented with two options for construction of the sidewalk, both fairly similar. One would include reducing the width of the road by about 2 feet in some sections. The road is 3 or 4 feet narrower on one end.
A state Department of Transportation grant has been acquired that provides funding for sidewalk improvement near school districts. Even so, the question remains whether the town will support another $30,000 to make repairs to the road.
Some drainage work will be done on the road regardless. “We’re trying to make it safer,” Selectman Les Flanders said. “We started on Beal Street and we’re trying to expand out.”
The plan to improve downtown streets started about eight years ago, following two fatalities on Main Street. A sidewalk feasibility study was done on the 13 miles of roadway that is on town sewage.
Town Manager David Holt said the intent to is to make the village more attractive and safe. “It is an unspoken grand plan to make the village more viable,” he said.
The sidewalk project is expected to take about a month to complete, and if town meeting voters approve funds for further road repairs to Tucker Street, it will take an additional two to four weeks. It is hoped construction could begin in the fall, officials said.
Although many residents asked that the road not be widened in an attempt to keep traffic slower, there was concern about possible accidents because of the narrowness of the road.
The town’s consulting engineer, Rob Prue of Pine Tree Engineering in Bath, will continue to define the plan, and in the spring he will meet with residents on their properties, if they wish, to see how the project will effect them directly.
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.