Scaled-down Galveston safety plan proposed for $2.15M budget; residents, businesses raise delivery and loading concerns

City staff on June 23 presented a scaled-down, safety-first approach to improvements along Galveston Avenue that they said can be built within the approximately $2.15 million currently budgeted for the corridor. The plan focuses on ADA ramp replacement, targeted sidewalk repairs, pedestrian refuge islands, a raised pedestrian crossing at 12th Street, and center medians at select locations; larger elements from the 2020 full design, including utilities and wider shared-use paths, were deferred because of available funding.

Ryan Oster, the city engineer, said the Galveston Corridor has been under study for more than a decade and that the council-adopted 2020 design represented a roughly $8,000,000 concept (about $4,000,000 transportation and $4,000,000 utilities). With the current budget reduced to about $2.15 million, staff said the revised scope concentrates on “safety first” elements and minimizes permanent curb changes so the design can be delivered with limited disruption.

Key elements described in the June 23 concept include: - ADA ramp and sidewalk work in multiple locations; staff said many existing ramps are noncompliant and some sidewalk segments are in poor condition and would be rebuilt. City crews are expected to self-perform much of the sidewalk and ramp work to reduce cost. -…