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Sidewalk installation to cost property owners
(by Barbara Christian - August 04, 2010)
Sidewalk installation to cost property owners
By BARBARA CHRISTIAN
Sidewalks for Cleveland and Mill streets in Chagrin Falls will be funded in a variety of ways, including an assessment of property owners along the 2,375-foot-long route.
The estimated cost of installing sidewalks along the two streets, which run between North Street and East Washington Street, is $534,000. A short section of Bell Street also is included. Also figured into the costs are crosswalk flashers and two sections of retaining-wall construction on Cleveland Street.
Abutting property owners of the proposed sidewalk will be asked to pay a portion of the cost as well, village Administrator Benjamin Himes said.
However, he said, it has been village policy to pick up some of the costs for issues with difficult terrain and other items through its capital-improvement fund.
Public hearings will be held for property owners before assessments are decided.
A major portion of the sidewalk cost, an estimated $300,000, will be for construction of a boardwalk along a 425-foot stretch of Mill Street. It is expected to be paid be Spillway Partners, a local group of investors, in accordance with a development agreement with the village.
The partners plan to redevelop the old Ivex-Alcoa paper mill into a multi-use entertainment, retail and office complex, which officials said will benefit by having sidewalks to what is essentially its front door.
Associated with the price tag is the boardwalk's tricky construction, a cantilevered projection over the river embankment and attached to Mill Street.
There is a plus side toward financing the project, which has been the No. 1 priority of council for more than a decade. It is a $500,000 Safe Routes to School infrastructure grant that was awarded to the village last spring.
Mr. Himes said those funds will be used for sidewalks in keeping with the goal of the grant, which is to provide safe pedestrian access between the high school campus on East Washington Street and Chagrin Falls Public Library on East Orange Street. The two facilities are on opposite sides of the village and are separated by the Chagrin River.
While an estimate has been made on the total expense to build the sidewalks, the exact cost is unknown, Mr. Himes said, adding it depends on the exact location of the sidewalks.
While impetus for the funds came through a parent organization seeking a safer, more walkable route to school, residents of Hamlet Village on Cleveland Street have long lobbied the village for safer access to the downtown and the library.
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