Council discusses phasing for road and sidewalk work to limit resident disruption

Town public-works staff and councilors discussed how to stage a planned road and sidewalk reconstruction to reduce disruption in residential areas.

Ryan, a public-works staffer, told the council that crews marked where sidewalks and some private driveways will be cut and that one driveway looks especially deteriorated. He said crews recommended splitting the project into phases so residents would retain access to parts of the street during construction. “They do Wood Park Court and do the back end of Woodburn,” Ryan said; “if they split it up and make the job a little longer, it might cost about an extra 2,500, but we could make it so half of it will be done one time so people could still get in.”

Nut graf: The council weighed whether the additional cost — roughly $2,500 quoted by staff — is justified by the benefit of avoiding a single 10-day (possibly longer) full closure that would require displaced parking and make access difficult during bad weather, particularly for residents in a cul-de-sac.

Details and impact: Staff warned the worst access issue will likely be at Wood Park Court and a nearby cul-de-sac in Woodburn, where removed sidewalks would leave stone paths and longer walks for residents during construction. Councilors agreed to consider phasing at an upcoming meeting; they also noted a contractor meeting was scheduled the next evening and that contractor Landon had emailed about a phasing fee.

Next steps: The council plans to address phasing and payment options in the following council meeting and to decide whether to accept the phase-based plan that would extend the schedule but reduce resident inconvenience.