RICHMOND HEIGHTS – Over 50 residents, city officials and project representatives met Tuesday night at an informational meeting about the Wise Avenue Reconstruction Project.
In 2010, Richmond Heights was awarded a Federal Surface Transportation Grant that would pay for 80 percent of the $1.8 million dollars needed for the design and construction necessary to repair Wise Avenue. The project is scheduled to begin in July, but some property owners object to certain aspects of the plan.
Assistant City Manager, David Gipson, opened the meeting with a 45 minute presentation highlighting the history and basic scope of the project. Then he asked for questions and comments.
One objection to the final plan was the removal of 19 existing trees. Two of the trees have already been removed due to “poor health.” An additional green ash tree will be removed due to the threat of emerald ash borers. Gipson went on to tell the audience, “The remaining 16 trees can be saved.” During construction there will be field adjustments to avoid tree removal.
“The contractors will be warned and we will put a price tag on each tree to let the contractor know how much that tree is worth if it’s damaged,” Gipson said.
Resident Dianne Lee appreciated the concession but stated, “A field adjustment is not a guarantee. It must be in the bid spec.”
Other residents objected to the widening of the sidewalks from four to five feet, arguing that the additional concrete was not only unsightly, but also encroached too far into their front yards.
District 4 Council Member Camille Greenwald told the audience that some wheelchair bound residents expressed gratitude for the proposed widening because the wider sidewalks are easier to navigate.
The original grant application did not request wider sidewalks. The change was made during the design process. According to City Manager, Amy Hamilton, the wider sidewalks are “typical for new sidewalk construction. It is the standard, not just in Richmond Heights, and will make Wise Avenue more walkable.”
Residents countered that widening the sidewalks is not necessary nor wanted. Janet Dobbs asked the city to, “consider going back to four foot sidewalks and keeping the streets the original width.”
Wise Avenue itself will be widened and leveled to varying degrees to provide greater space for cars parking on the street. This, along with the sidewalks, will inevitably shrink the size of some property owner’s front yards. Richmond Heights had to secure Right of Way from each owner and after sending letters, the city has collected 29 of the 31 Rights of Way. Those documents are currently under review at Missouri Department of Transportation and must be approved for the project to proceed.
Head of that review is Bill Hampton who was present at the meeting. He stated that he could “not make everybody feel happy about this job.” He went on to say, “I have never seen any city do what your city has done to address your concerns in this way.” Hampton concluded his comments by saying, “This project is not going away.”
Residents stated that they did not want the project to go away, just changed. The city contends that there is not time to revamp the already finalized plans by July 15. If the grant funds are not obligated by then, Richmond Heights will lose the money.
Citizens also want better communication and feel the city has not done everything it could to keep people informed.
“We want to work together,” said resident Tim Seleska. “From our perspective the process was short circuited and input was sought after decisions were made.”
In March 2012, Richmond Heights held a public meeting to seek comments on the preliminary plans. According to reports, 20 people attended the meeting and gave feedback. The city then submitted final plans for approval.
Tuesday night’s meeting ended at 8:50 p.m. and residents were invited to speak with officials regarding issues or questions related to specific property.
City Manager Hamilton and Assistant City Manager Gipson encouraged meeting attendees to provide email addresses so the city can keep residents in the loop as the project moves forward. After MoDOT reviews and approves the Rights of Way, the city may send the project out for bids.
The “informational meeting” was just a ‘feel good’ device. The contract has already been let and construction is to begin in July.
Question: will Wise Avenue be a part of the “Complete Streets” movement?
Complete Streets provide a super wide bike lane at the expense of automobile traffic. Manchester Road west of Kingshighway, which was recently re-striped as a Complete Street, is a good example.
cut down all the trees !!!!!!!!!!
we use a wide wheel chair we need it!!!!!!!!
The five foot sidewalks are completely unnecessary for a street like Wise Ave. and likely just a tactic to get federal money. Delmar or Grand Aves? Sure – they can use such a broad sidewalk. Even Dale Ave makes sense, since it connects the City Hall to the Heights and it is fairly obvious that Richmond Heights has a longer term plan for that stretch. But since they closed the interstate access from Wise, it is just a regular ole residential street. What a waste of yard space and the creation of even more hot concrete in the long summer months.
Having said that, I appreciate that the officials in Richmond Heights are at least trying to save the trees on the street, as well as on Dale Ave. That’s more than can be said for Maplewood, which tore down at least 10 mature trees on Richmond and Gayola in 2013 and will likely tear down another 20-30 more when they continue the street/sewer projects next year. Talking to Mr. Traxler and others in City Hall about attempting to save the trees is like talking to a brick wall. Sadly, they even resort to fear mongering over potentials lawsuits and other dubious claims. Statements like, “Do you want someone to DIE??”, have honest to God been said in my presence. I expect more from a city that has proven to be so progressive in many other ways.
The cities see that they can get some money. Usually, they know what to fix. They then make plans, make arrangements, get things finalized. and THEN tell the people who are impacted. If the city was fixing my street (or the streets of the people making the plans) I would NOT want them to take another foot of my yard for the street and an ADDITIONAL foot for an enlarged sidewalk. And how did people with wheelchairs hear about the project before the other citizens?