NORTHBOROUGH – Several sidewalk projects are moving forward.
The Select Board voted on July 15 to allocate $203,150 in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to the sidewalk projects. Following a request for sidewalk improvements, Department of Public Works Director Scott Charpentier met with Planning Director Laurie Connors with a focus on downtown sidewalks and targeted projects that had been identified by the Select Board.
Charpentier reached out to an engineering consultant and asked for an itemized list for each of the projects. He asked the engineer for the price to conduct survey work and 30% design for the sidewalks and 30% design for the pedestrian scale lighting with a goal to return before the Select Board with information about what would be required.
The board could then select which projects they wanted to move forward with funding for construction. Charpentier could move the projects forward under the current paving contractor’s contract.
“The idea here is to get the projects that we’re pretty confident that we can build moving forward with survey,” he said.
The initial list under consideration by the board included:
- Hudson Street sidewalk from Center Drive toward Main Street, one side – $18,700
- Hudson Street pedestrian scale lighting – $9,000
- South Street sidewalk from Main Street to Gale Street, both sides – $14,200
- South Street pedestrian scale lighting – $13,250
- Gale and Monroe Street sidewalk from Main Street to Town Common, one side – $40,900
- Gale Street and Monroe Street pedestrian scale lighting – $13,250
- Allen Street sidewalk from East Main Street to bridge, one side – $33,000
- Maple Street sidewalk from Ridge Road to Bartlett Street, one side – $60,850
- Davis Street sidewalk from Lanthorn Road to Hamilton Road, one side – $46,800
These projects totaled $249,950. However, the Select Board later removed the Davis Street sidewalk from the list; Charpentier said this project may be a challenge as the lawns are “dead flat.”
Charpentier said his goal would be to get the designs completed on the “easy” projects.
“Absolutely, no way Maple Street can be constructed — one because the cost is going to be far prohibitive for what’s available in ARPA. But we’ll know what we’re getting into, and there will be additional design money for that because there are wetland impacts,” said Charpentier.
He noted that there’s an aqueduct crossing, and there will be “substantial” drainage improvements needed.
The Allen Street sidewalk from East Main to the bridge may be easy as the street is already built for the work, though he said there may be some easement risks.
For some of the projects, 30% design will be “good enough” to get pricing for the contractor and to then do the work, Charpentier said.
As for the pedestrian scale lighting, these funds would not physically install the lights, but they would fund the design of the layout of the lights and install the conduit and pole boxes under the sidewalks. Charpentier noted that one of the goals of the Master Plan is to have granite curbs and concrete sidewalks in the target area within downtown.
“What we don’t want to do is put in brand new concrete sidewalks, and then three years later rip them up because we want to put conduit under it for pedestrian scale lighting,” Charpentier said.
Other projects that were funded include $25,000 for benches and picnic tables and $56,000 for immediate facility repairs, which could include repairing the gym floor at Town Hall, upgrading the HVAC system for rental space at 4 West Main St., engineering costs associated with Town Meeting approved HVAC improvements, back up power improvements for Town Hall and remediation of the library ceiling.
Northborough has until the end of the year to allocate its ARPA funds.
