Gwyneth Teves, the city’s director of planning and development, says Wharton will use grant funds of nearly $800,000 in two separate projects. One is called the Wharton Safe and Accessible Routes, and the other is called the Main Street/Downtown Revitalization Project.
The accessible routes will build all-new sidewalks with the city responsible for engineering and a 20 percent match of $159,000. Construction is expected to begin this spring. The new sidewalks will focus on neighborhoods around Sivells Elementary, Wharton High School, Wharton County Junior College, and Wharton Junior High School.
The downtown project will focus on reconstruction, new sidewalks, and ADA curb ramps in sections of eight streets in central Wharton. The city is responsible for a $52,000 match. Teves expects work to be done this coming summer.
She says this downtown grant is the first of its kind. Wharton has benefited from three previous grants in the safe and accessible routes program.
Many cities across the United States omitted sidewalk construction as life revolved around motor vehicles in the 20th Century. There is a new emphasis, however, on walkable connecting neighborhoods.
Houston is talking about this very thing, according to news reports this week. The city of Houston will no longer require new housing developments to build sidewalks. This is because many felt the new sidewalks can lead to “nowhere.” In other words, there were occurrences of the sidewalks not conntecting to other sidewalks; they just stopped.
Now, developers would just pay a fee so the funds will fit into overall plans. The fee is estimated to be $3,000 per lot.
It’s a worthy thing to have walkable neighborhoods and commercial districts. I hope to write more about this in the future. Say “yes” to sidewalks.
