Barry Williams went to Frazier Elementary in Brentwood. The school is no longer there, but some footpaths that students used to walk to the school remain. Williams still lives in Brentwood not far from where the school stood, and he’s on a mission to restore two of those paths for the walkers and runners of today.
The school has been replaced by houses in Brentwood’s Ward 1. As a result, two out of four original paths remain (one of those is in good condition and one needs maintenance), one was lost with no hope of being restored (between Parkridge Avenue and St. Clair Avenue), and one was lost which Williams hopes to see restored (between Parkridge Avenue in Ward 1 and West Swan Circle in Ward 4).
Williams met with the Brentwood Public Works Committee on Tuesday about restoring the short path between Parkridge Avenue in Ward 1 and West Swan Circle in Ward 4.
He told the committee a replacement is possible on a different alignment. A fence now runs along the property line. A break in the fence is used by walkers, though it’s a short hill with some wear. Williams talked to the committee about like restoring that path in accordance with ADA requirements. The committee approved the idea 4-0.
The path from what was Frazier’s playground to Southcote Drive remains in place. The western half is well-maintained by York Woods. The eastern half is supposed to be maintained by the Yorkshire Lane subdivision but is apparently being neglected. One section of the path is covered with silt and decaying leaves. Williams says the path isn’t safe to use in wet weather, and would like to see it better maintained. See a history of the ownership of this path.
See information on Frazier Elementary at the Brentwood Historical Society.
Most of us need to walk more and drive less, and so I applaud the effort to restore the old Frazier footpath between Parkridge and W. Swan. I believe many in Brentwood would like to rely less on automobiles, and we could if our city was interconnected with safe and well-maintained pedestrian paths. Shame on the Brentwood School District for scrapping this asset. This is the same district that wanted to pave a large swath of the McGrath School campus last year to encourage vehicles and traffic. One of the great virtues of our city is its walkable schools, yet school district officials appear to have a strong bias against walking.
Why does out say one is last with no hope off being restored? If the easement still exists than the walk way should be replaced. It’s a great way to connect our neighborhoods and get people from different areas to know other
Walter, I guess there’s no hope of this path being restored because a new house now sits on the former easement. That’s what Barry implied to me.
I remember walking the path from York Woods to the playground at Frazier. Sometimes, I’d ride my bike and every day I had to decide whether to ride down the bumpy steps leading onto the playground or walking the bike down those steps. I’ve got 5 kids so I guess I walked the bike down more often.
How funny, Ed! My younger brother had a small motorcycle/dirt bike, and I begged for a ride…my mom MADE him take me for one just once…Stephen decided to take me on the path from St. Clair to Frazier along the ball fields, then up the steps to York….that little bike stalled on the steps and we rolled/bounced back down going backwards! I jumped off, smacked my brother for trying to kill me and walked home!!! Never rode with him again, even when he got a bigger motorcycle!! Thanks for the memory!! ??