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Gunn Creek trail largely removed from plan after resident opposition; PDD amendment and crosswalks planned
Summary
Developers and town staff said they will remove roughly half of a proposed Gunn Creek walking path after homeowners and the HOA opposed it. The project will require a Planned Development District amendment, and the town plans to add a crosswalk and ADA ramps at Park Road.
Town engineering staff and a project representative told the Grand Island Town Board the Gunn Creek walking path will be reduced after homeowners asked that the trail be eliminated from parts of the development, and the town will seek a Planned Development District amendment.
Frank, the project representative, described the design changes: the town will remove just over half of the originally proposed trail and instead install a crosswalk and handicap ramps where the path meets Park Road. “We went to our engineering firm to redraw the design, the layout, take out the trail,” Frank said, and noted the revised plans have been submitted to Bob Westfall for review.
Board members and residents recounted the history. The planning board and earlier approvals had promoted the path as a public feature that would connect neighborhoods, schools and other streets, but residents in the affected townhouses put together petitions asking that the spur behind several houses be eliminated. Frank said roughly 50% of the path had already been constructed.
Discussion touched on maintenance responsibilities. Frank said maintenance becomes the HOA’s responsibility after the town turns over the path; the town will add crosswalks and ADA ramps, and staff will obtain cost estimates from the project estimator for those curb and ramp improvements. The path surface was described as a six-foot-wide wood-chip to be maintained by the HOA once turnover occurs.
The board noted that eliminating the trail may reduce townwide connectivity — the path had been planned in part to create a loop and to provide access to other areas — but members acknowledged the HOA’s concerns about privacy and use. No formal vote to adopt the site change was recorded at the meeting; staff said a PDD amendment will be needed to finalize the alteration to the approved plan.
Town staff asked to be informed when final plans and cost estimates are ready so the board can consider the PDD amendment and associated construction items. The board asked the developer to provide the revised site plan and cost estimates for the crosswalk and curb ramps so the town can proceed with the PDD amendment process.
