Norwood committee weighs options to restore walking path at Coakley complex

Jerry Miller, a longtime Norwood recreation department official, urged the Norwood School Building Committee on March 10 to complete a walking path that runs behind the Cokley/Coakley school fields and connect it to new sidewalks being built with the middle-school project.

“We built a walking path, and we put exercise equipment around all the quarters … two-thirds of it,” Miller said during public comment, and asked whether the committee could restore the portion lost to the new school construction so residents could continue to use the facility.

Project staff told the committee they have studied four options: restore the original field-level path (orange line), a route that cuts through parts of two fields (red and yellow lines), a route that uses the new sidewalk adjacent to the new building (minimal cost), and adding a sidewalk at road level on the field side (avoids a retaining wall but requires review of road width and fire-department access). “We are looking at a few options … I don't think we're ready to rule any of them out yet,” the project team said.

Staff said the most expensive choice would be the original field-level alignment because it would require a retaining wall. An earlier, rough estimate for a retaining-wall solution was discussed in the meeting papers and comments; participants referenced previous numbers in the $300,000 range for linear wall cost and, elsewhere in the discussion, a broader figure that speakers read aloud as “about a 400 to $4,500,000 price tag” for a retaining-wall plus path option. Staff emphasized they would return with refined, written order-of-magnitude pricing that reconciles those previous numbers and with fire-department feedback before recommending a preferred route.

Committee members asked staff to get three items before the next meeting: (1) a rough order-of-magnitude price for each viable route, (2) the fire department's determination about whether the road can be narrowed or whether a queuing lane must remain, and (3) confirmation from other town departments about narrowing the roadway where applicable. The committee agreed staff should return with the rough pricing rather than a full design so a decision can be made in time for any summer work.

Miller also asked whether a proposed “last hurrah” alumni event for the old school could be accommodated before demolition. Project staff warned the schedule is tight: the building must be vacated and turned over to the contractor four days after the last day of school, demolition is planned after turnover, and the gym must come down to complete a new access road. Staff said they will raise the event request at the next transition meeting but could not guarantee the timing would permit a large public event.

The committee directed staff to bring the order-of-magnitude pricing and departmental review to the next meeting and noted the walking-path topic remains under active consideration.