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Ross staff propose replacing three pedestrian bridges at Natalie Coffin Green Park
Summary
Town staff presented plans to replace three failing pedestrian bridges at Natalie Coffin Green Park with prefabricated steel truss bridges set on the existing stone abutments, favoring weathered-steel structure with natural wood decking and rails; ADR asked staff to provide material samples before the council decision.
Rich Siminich, the Town of Ross public works director, asked the Advisory Design Review (ADR) group to recommend a design-review project to the town council to replace three failing pedestrian bridges at Natalie Coffin Green Park. “We’re gonna replace them, the proposed project with, 3 new prefabricated steel truss bridges,” Siminich said during the ADR meeting presentation.
The bridges, Siminich said, sit on historic rock abutments the town intends to retain; the proposal places prefabricated trusses on those existing foundations. Staff presented material choices for the superstructure and decking: weathered (Corten) steel for the trusses with a preference for natural wood decking and a wood top rail over the steel. Siminich noted alternatives such as concrete decks or fiber-reinforced plastic would reduce maintenance but judged wood decking more consistent with the park’s rustic character.
A key reason for replacement is structural deterioration: staff described sagging girders, failing railings and ongoing rot from decades of repairs. Siminich said the spans are short — “maybe 20 feet long” — which constrains vendor options and informed the choice of prefabricated short-span bridge products.
Town Council member Elizabeth Robbins commented from the public bench that the bridges should look “very pretty and very rustic” and urged care with finish color, saying the orange look shown in a vendor photo “almost looks like the Golden Gate Bridge.” ADR members repeatedly asked for physical finish samples and for staff to identify nearby examples the public can visit. Several ADR members favored matching the existing hog-wire and split-rail approach fencing to retain the park’s established look.
ADR members generally endorsed staff’s functional recommendations — retaining the stone abutments and using wood decking and rails — but asked staff to obtain Corten/weathered-steel samples and to explore a darker, oil-rubbed bronze finish if feasible. Siminich agreed to request samples and to show them to ADR members or individual reviewers before the town council considers the design.
The ADR did not record a formal final action on an ordinance at the meeting; staff will forward the design-review packet and any samples to the council for the next step.
