Council discusses College Road sidewalk request for wheelchair user, directs resident to coordinate with homeowner

Council members discussed a resident's request to add a missing sidewalk segment on College Road that would provide an accessible route from apartments to St. Patrick's Church. The council reviewed existing policy and options and gave direction on next steps.

Public-works staff and council members said the city's typical approach is to require sidewalks for new development and to install sidewalk during complete road reconstructions at city expense; the city generally does not infill individual missing sidewalk segments at public expense. Public-works staff said the house without sidewalk predated surrounding development and that neighboring developments installed sidewalk along their own frontage.

Council members discussed liability and maintenance concerns raised by the property owner and the difficulty of setting a precedent for infilling missing segments across the city. Staff estimated the missing connection at roughly 175 to 200 feet and said construction would likely cost thousands of dollars; one council member offered a ballpark figure of about $10,000.

Council direction: staff said the property owner could install the sidewalk at his own expense; the council asked the requester to speak with the homeowner about contributing or arranging the work. Council did not direct the city to pay for or construct the infill sidewalk at this time.