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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend August 22, 2005 New sidewalk project gets a hand from local bond By MEG LANDERS Mail Tribune After 30 years of living on Howard Avenue, Donald Wooley looks forward to finally getting sidewalks on the ditch-lined street that leads to Howard Elementary School. "I’ve pulled quite a few kids out of those storm drains," said Wooley. The Medford City Council on Thursday approved a preliminary design for sidewalks on Howard Avenue between Mace Road and Berrydale Avenue, about 2,700 feet long. Howard Avenue is a narrow two-lane paved road with ditches on both sides and no sidewalks or gravel shoulders for pedestrians. The project will be paid for in part with the $4.6 million sidewalk bond approved by voters in November to help build sidewalks around 12 elementary schools over the next three years. A portion of the funding for Howard Avenue likely will come from deferred improvement agreements that exist along Howard, according to a member of the city staff. Advertisement Councilwoman Claudette Moore explained in a phone interview Friday that a deferred improvement agreement is when a property owner develops his property but postpones bringing the property frontage up to city standards. "When it’s time to put sidewalks in front of the street, you’ll step up," she said. She said for an average urban lot with a 50-foot frontage, the cost comes to about $1,100. Moore said the city will look into getting a zero-interest loan to allow the property owners with deferred improvements to pay it off slowly, such as over 20 years. The city would collect on at least nine of the 80 properties that have deferred improvement agreements. Howard Avenue resident Gary Roby, who partitioned and built on his land years ago, is among those. He said during the public hearing that before the passage of the bond, the sidewalk work looked to be years away. He said it’s unfair to force the property owners to pay the money at this time. "We would be going into thousands of dollars of additional debt," he said. Public Works Director Cory Crebbin said Thursday’s public hearing was about the sidewalk plan, and a future public hearing will address the issue of collecting from deferred improvement agreements. City Engineer Larry Beskow requested a variation to build a curb-to-curb street of 28 feet rather than 36 and to forgo eight-foot vegetation strips between the curbs and the sidewalks for the majority of the project, in part so that there would not have to be right-of-way purchases. Preliminary designs for Howard Avenue approved by the council include a 28-foot paved street, new curbs and gutters and a five-foot sidewalk on both sides, with planter strips in some areas where the project width permits. Reach reporter Meg Landers at 776-4481 or e-mail New sidewalk project gets a hand from local bond ">[email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback www.bingo.com Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker dvd-r Distance Education Computer Security Ztech Media Hosting Sports Equipment Online Casino Salvia Divinorum Student Loans tcg student loan consolidation Online Pharmacy Online Casino Reviews Myspace Home Equity Loans Windermere Van Vleet Rogue Valley Travel Discount Hotel Reservations Southern Oregon Loans Online Casino News Casino Gambling Sites Budget Website Templates Online Bingo Entertainment Guide Advertisement s