NORTH SMITHFIELD – At meetings over the past several months, Councilor Claire O’Hara has spoken on the issue of the damaged sidewalks in front of her home on Summit Avenue several times.
The pedestrian walkways, she’s noted, are no longer flat due to trees that have raised some of the surface, leading to what she described as a dangerous situation. Her complaints have prompted Town Administrator Scott Gibbs to look into the cost of potential repairs for the neighborhood and in the meantime, cones and caution tape have been put up to protect walkers from the hazard – and the town from liability.
But this week, O’Hara’s neighbor told councilors she and others who walk the neighborhood had no complaints with the sidewalks, and asked if the tape can be removed.
“We have four families that walk with children and strollers with dogs, plus multiple other residents walk and run the neighborhood,” said resident Maggy Newton. “I have talked to many of our neighbors recently. Nobody was complaining about the sidewalks prior to that being brought up to the council.”
“The issue with the cones and the caution tape are now, we walk in the street,” Newton said.
Newton said the change has made things more dangerous for those who use the road.
“Obviously, we understand that the cause of the sidewalks bumps are due to the tree roots,” she said. “We’ve lived there for 11 years. We’ve never really had a complaint about them. Now, I feel like it’s definitely more unsafe with the cones and the caution tape there than it was with just the lifted pieces of sidewalk.”
“Obviously, I know this project is not a top priority of the town nor do I think it should be,” said Newton. “I don’t think it’s that pressing of an issue, nor do many of the neighbors that I talk to.”
At a meeting last month, Gibbs said the town is considering a town-wide assessment of sidewalk conditions while engineers look at the specific neighborhood, which also includes walkways along White Parkway.
“I know that that stuff takes time. I’m sure that’s not going to be a cheap project to do,” said Newton of the effort.
Speaking during good and welfare Monday night, Newton asked if the town could look into other solutions in the meantime, removing the tape and instead using spray paint to warn walkers of the uneven surface. She noted that leveling the lifted concrete could be an easier solution.
“It would at least allow us to continue to use the sidewalks while all of that’s being ironed out,” she said of the pending assessment.
O’Hara, who wasn’t present at the council’s meeting this week, previously stated that the sidewalk problem was created because former Town Administrator Bob Lowe had the wrong type of trees planted in the area decades ago.
But for Newton, it seems, the trees are actually an asset.
“We definitely don’t want the trees cut down. They produce a lot of shade for us in the summertime when we walk,” she said. “We know the bumps are there. It’s part of the charm of the neighborhood.”
Gibbs said he will reach out to the town’s insurer, the Rhode Island Interlocal Risk Management Trust, to see what can be done.
“Clearly, if they feel that those kinds of solutions are fine, we’ll have the Public Works Department address it immediately,” said Gibbs.
Council President Kimberly Alves said perhaps signs could be installed warning pedestrians of the uneven surface.
“I hate to say it: not many places in town have sidewalks, so to have a community area that has sidewalks and you can walk and enjoy the neighborhood is probably part of the reason you moved there, and to be able to utilize them would be great,” Alves said.
This is what is funny about this story. I live in a neighborhood with no sidewalks so we must walk in the street and avoid the large potholes. But Clair O’Hara needs a perfect sidewalk in front of her house on a nicely paved street where my street has many cracks and potholes. Maybe Mr. Gibbs should focus on paving streets that are in major disrepair from being ironed by past administrations instead of worrying about a few sidewalks that the neighborhood is not that concerned about. Maybe the town could also clean up the trash and overgrown sidewalk at the former beef barn location. The sidewalk looks like the annex to the town dump.
Right? Someone from Town Hall Administration must drive by there at least once a day. Hold property owners accountable for keeping their property clean. About as useless as the PD parked across the street doing nothing while cars drive through the red light.
Good grief. Just level the sidewalk piece already. Cheaper.
My street had many uneven, had a front loader in to pull it up and out in front of my house and driveway. Lay new cement down, leveled it, and done by the end of day, dried. Or one can level it for now without a big deal. Literally making a mountain out of a molehill. Not breaking the bank either.
Contacting insurance co, etc, seriously? This is so minor a fix it is unbelievable what is being made of it due to no experience.