Seventh Street design gets first look

A preliminary design for reconstruction of West Seventh Street shows a road with transitioning characteristics as it winds through the neighborhood.

“Maintaining the culture of the neighborhood was important,” said project engineer Ryan Mitchell with Robert Peccia and Associates. “Path and sidewalk improvements were important.”

City Council on April 6 approved the preliminary design. The cost of the project is estimated at $2.39 million and will be paid with resort tax funds.

“We’ve had quite a bit of input from the neighborhood,” said interim public works director Karin Hilding.

The plan breaks the road into four distinct neighborhoods. Near Baker Avenue the street is high density, and as it heads west toward Karrow Avenue the road becomes more rural, Mitchell noted.

The plan for the section of the road west of Karrow keeps a width of about 22 feet with no sidewalks. The plan calls for keeping as much vegetation and trees as undisturbed as possible.

From Karrow to Geddes, plans call for an urban road section that includes curb and gutter. The section will also include a 10-foot-wide shared path on the north side of the road.

From Geddes to O’Brien Avenue, the project calls for a typical urban street with curb and gutter, along with an 8-foot wide sidewalk on the north side of the road.

From O’Brien to Baker, the plan calls for a road with curb and gutter. There will be an 8-foot wide sidewalk on the north side of the road. That section of the road will have a narrower landscaped boulevard of 4-feet wide, while the other sections have a 5- to 7-foot wide boulevard between the road and sidewalk/path.

The wonky intersection at O’Brien Avenue remains a concern.

A potential option is to turn O’Brien into a one-way street while keeping a three-way stop at the intersection. Traffic would only be allowed to travel north on the street.

Mitchell last week requested more time to collect input on the idea and return to council at a later date with the option.

“There are safety concerns at O’Brien,” he said.

There will be no on-street parking on any of the sections.

The project includes two construction phases. The first phase will include relocation of the gas line in the fall of 2015. The second phase includes the reconstruction of the road and utilities, construction of a bicycle/pedestrian path, installation of boulevard lighting and landscaping.

City Council previously decided not to bury powerlines on the section of the road. Early estimates were that underground utilities could add a $1.3 million cost to the project.

The city hopes to get new sewer and water lines to all residents on the corridor.