The Winston-Salem City Council has approved a “Sidewalk and Pedestrian Facilities” plan that will help make the cities a friendlier place to walk:
Safety may be paramount, but it also comes with a price tag.
Sidewalks cost the city about $30 a linear foot.
That would be for a sidewalk on an existing roadway, with a private contractor doing the work.
Sidewalks in new subdivisions tend to cost less. As construction costs continue to rise, however, new sidewalks now cost about $20 to $ 30 a linear foot…..
Money can come from such sources as bonds and the motor-vehicle tax. Having a pedestrian plan can also allow city officials and planners to shift the financial burden onto developers by using the plan as a platform on which to request sidewalks.
Meanwhile, Wharton addresses concerns about narrower streets expressed in this N&R letter to the editor.
I have to wonder, though, if Troyce Hood doesn’t have a point when thinking about the new Friendly Ave. bottleneck between Holden and Westridge Roads. I talked with a friend about it last night and we agreed that that it’s not that bad, but the traffic was low when we were on it. But I also took a pretty close look at the gap in the median across from the fire station. Yeah, it’s wide, but I still can see how a fire truck would have trouble getting around it when making a left turn onto Friendly, especially with a greater concentration of traffic.
Yes, I’m sure due diligence was performed with the fire department. But such practices are performed in theory, while reality often sinks in after the fact.
