Engineer proposes bronze musical‑note inlays for new Searls Avenue sidewalk; commission supports concept

The city engineer presented plans for a new roughly 1,200‑foot sidewalk on Searls Avenue and suggested embedding bronze musical‑note inlays in the poured concrete to reflect the commission’s recently adopted music theme. The commission expressed enthusiastic support and recommended staff coordinate community input before finalizing bid documents.

Bridal, the city engineer, described the project as a one‑side sidewalk running from the freeway to Valley Street and said the city has funds to build the sidewalk and will go to bid this winter for construction next spring. "So this would be a 1,200 foot new sidewalk on Searls Avenue... one side of the street, 1,200 feet long," Bridal told the commission, and proposed musical notes set in bronze as an inlay during the concrete pour to create a durable, low‑maintenance installation.

Commissioners raised practical questions about design and fabrication: whether the notes should read as a continuous piece of music or be a scattered pattern, how the notes would be oriented relative to walkers, and whether small bulb‑outs could be used to add historical text or other features without affecting traffic. Commissioners suggested local fabricators such as Curious Forge and All Seasons for metalwork and asked for a small committee to refine aesthetic detail with the engineer prior to bidding.

Staff confirmed there will be a neighborhood community workshop to solicit local input and that the sidewalk plans will be finalized for bid documents. The commission’s input at the Nov. 5 meeting was advisory; any final design changes would be incorporated into bid specifications and routed through city council as needed.

Next steps: staff will hold the planned community workshop, incorporate commissioner feedback on placement and fabrication, identify potential fabricators and costs for the bronze elements, and finalize bid documents this winter for construction in spring.