Edward Street residents urge city to reconsider sidewalks, cite drainage, slopes and mature trees

Residents of Edward Street urged the Common Council to slow a proposed street rehabilitation plan that would add sidewalks to their short, established block.

Jobe Chesnick identified himself as a resident and representative of neighbors and said many residents learned only recently that sidewalks were planned as part of a street replacement project. Chesnick read a letter from neighbors Brian and Nancy Severance and summarized the group's concerns: the block is short and in an established neighborhood, stormwater concentrates at two local points that would tie into the new sidewalks and could create basement flooding if drainage is altered; many yards are built up above street grade and would require retaining walls and steep driveway regrading; multiple mature trees and landscaping (some 30 years old) could be lost; and winter sidewalk maintenance leaves sidewalks icy and unusable for months.

Chesnick and the Severances asked for earlier, clearer resident notification and more opportunity for neighborhood input. The letter recommended alternatives, including constructing a sidewalk on one side of the street only (the north side was suggested) or installing a narrower sidewalk less than the 15-foot easement to reduce slope impacts. The letter noted the presence of existing multiuse path space on the street, seasonal walking in the plowed roadway and the ecological and maintenance trade-offs of adding paved sidewalks.

No action was taken; city staff and the engineering consultant had previously reported that reconstruction and potential sidewalk installation were included in planned work and that public outreach would continue. Residents asked that staff involve property owners in design decisions and identify exceptions or reduced-width sidewalk installations where appropriate.