Neighbors differ on how to reconstruct Edgewood Place

Residents living along Edgewood Place have differing views for how the area should look once a section of the roadway is reconstructed.

Some want to see added sidewalks to the streets, while others want to keep their neighborhood more rural in nature, saying the path off Edgewood already provides an option for pedestrians.

The city is planning to reconstruct Edgewood Place from Colorado Avenue to the eastern city limits, and in a related second phase of the project reconstruct Texas Avenue from Edgewood Place to its northern limit.

City Council last week reviewed the design plans for the project.

Public Works Director Craig Workman said one of the highest priorities of the project is enhancement of driver and pedestrian safety through roadway improvements, street lighting, intersection improvements and improved pedestrian accommodations.

“We’ve also been working hard to balance the desires of residents to maintain the rural character and quality of the neighborhood with the long-term vision and growth projections for the corridor,” he said. “Staff understands the need to keep the rural feel.”

Speaking before Council, Benjamin Vait said he likes the proposal, but asked that the planned sidewalk along Edgewood be extended even further east.

“That would permit safe passage to downtown, so we can get to the crosswalk,” he told Council. “When there are vehicles traveling on that road and a person walking on the road it becomes very scary.”

However, Marc Neidig said while he supports reconstructing the street, a sidewalk on the north side of the street is redundant when there’s a pathway along the south side of Edgewood and doesn’t support a boulevard.

“Keep the rural character of this neighborhood,” he said. “When you make changes to the historical landscape that will be lost and we can never get that back.”

After hearing comments and reviewing the project, Council asked the public works department to look again at the design to see if the sidewalk along Edgewood can be constructed east to the city limits and adjust the landscaping plan to mitigate tree removal that will have to occur as part of the project.

Councilor Steve Qunell said it’s downright dangerous to walk in areas around town without sidewalks.

“This is one of those de facto bypasses that people use to get around town,” he said.

Councilor Ben Davis, who lives along the section of Edgewood to be reconstructed, said it seems like a good time to extend the sidewalk as far as possible.

“If the residents to the east of Texas would like a sidewalk this would be a good time to accommodate that,” he said. “Standard street trees are maybe not replacement for what’s there. To keep the character of the area, we need to engage to see if we have the right landscaping.”

The design plan calls for Edgewood Place to be reduced to a width of 28 feet to slow traffic while also helping to maintain additional distance between the improvements and the existing homes on the north side of the road. A sidewalk is also planned to be installed on the north side of the road that would allow for using the crosswalk to access the shared use pathway on the south side of the road. A 6-foot landscaped boulevard is also planned.

Multiple mature trees in the right of way will have to be removed as part of the reconstruction and a landscaping plan will replace many of the trees, Workman notes.

Preliminary designs showed the road redesign with and without a sidewalk constructed. A survey of residents showed that about 65% were in favor of the sidewalk.

“Based on this information, anticipated increases in residential density, and the enormous safety benefits that a sidewalk would provide, staff is recommending the final project design incorporate a 5-foot concrete sidewalk on the north side of Edgewood Place between Colorado and Texas,” Workman said.

Reconstruction plans also call for the corridor to be upgraded to include decorative lighting similar to what was completed on the reconstruction of Somers Avenue and State Park Road.

The total project is expected to cost about $5 million and is slated to be paid for with resort tax funds. The Edgewood portion is expected to cost $2.3 million.

The project is expected to be completed in two phases. The first would involve the reconstruction of Edgewood Place occurring in July through October this year. While the second phase would involve the reconstruction of Texas Avenue in July through October 2022.