Zeeland Record
Some residents on the west side of Taft Street aren’t happy about the proposed alignment of sidewalk to be built on their side of the street as part of an upcoming reconstruction project.
The sidewalk issue came up for discussion at Monday’s City Council meeting. The proposed addition of sidewalk on the west side of Taft, from Lincoln Avenue to Huizenga Avenue, is part of the $4.5 million reconstruction project that’s expected to get underway later this spring.
At issue is a plan by the city to install the sidewalk one foot off the back of the right-of-way, which officials say has been a consistent practice on recent installation projects. However, because of underground utilities that are already on the west side of Taft, it will create a wider curb lawn than on the east side of the street, where there is a 6-foot gap between the curb and the sidewalk. The curb lawn on the west side would be 11-1/2 feet, Assistant City Manager and Finance Director Kevin Plockmeyer said.
“The telecommunication companies and our electric company has their infrastructure right where we would put a 6-foot curb lawn. We’d have to move every single one of those boxes (to accommodate that),” Plockmeyer said.
The Board of Public Works has estimated that relocating the underground utilities would cost about $150,000, Plockmeyer said.
Taft resident Glenn Freeman called for the city to move the sidewalk closer to the street, even proposing curves on the sidewalk to work around the utilities, such as the transformer box at 256 and 262 Taft.
“This is similar to what was done at the corner of Alice and 101st (Street), where the sidewalk curves closer to Alice after bypassing a transformer box. At that same intersection, on the other side of 101st, the sidewalk jogs away from the road. A similar jog at Valley and Taft around those utilities would allow the sidewalk to be moved towards Taft,” Freeman wrote in an email.
Jim DeHaan suggested moving the centerline of the street to create equal curb widths on both sides of the street.
“I’m more about the symmetry of the whole thing, not so much about the sidewalk being closer to the house. I get that,” DeHaan said. “But where the sidewalk is proposed, it feels like people are walking through the yard instead of next to the street.”
The sidewalk that is proposed for the west side of Taft would run anywhere from 24 to 39 feet from the walk to the front of homes along the affected stretch. Plockmeyer told the council that on several recent projects, sidewalks were built that close or even closer.
“On Plainfield Avenue, we installed sidewalks an average of 25 feet from the front of the houses,” he said. “Rich Street was an average of 20 feet and quite frankly, we had one house where we installed (sidewalk) within 9 feet of the front of the house.”
Plockmeyer ruled out the idea of creating curves in the sidewalk, saying that straight sidewalks are better for walkability and also for plowing during the winter.
Mayor Kevin Klynstra wasn’t surprised by the concerns that were raised.
“It’s always a tough call,” Klynstra said. “We’ve had it with Plainfield Court, we’ve had it with Alice Street. It’s nothing new for us.”
The city received bids for the Taft project last week, and is expected to award the contract next month.
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