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Golden's sidewalk dilemma
Contributed by: Ed Dorsey on 10/3/2007

There has been considerable dialogue over the past years concerning the lack of adequate and safe sidewalks in the City of Golden, especially the narrow ones typically found in older neighborhoods. The City has been continually criticized by the Voice of Golden newsletter, mostly around election time, for not spending capital dollars on sidewalks before spending them on recreational and other amenities.

What hasn't been said about this issue is how complex a problem it is. It's not just a question of expending taxpayer funds. And it's not that city staff doesn't see it as a valid expenditure. The city would love to upgrade or add sidewalks where they are needed. However, they are hampered in doing so. Consider this. In order to add or widen sidewalks, land to do so must be available.

There are only two places to get the land. The City Right of Way (ROW) on adjacent property or the adjacent roadway. Although the city has the legal right to utilize the ROW for sidewalks, in many, if not most cases, the property owner is already using the ROW. Typical uses are fences, walls and landscaping right adjacent to the existing sidewalk. When you ask the property owner whether he would remove the improvements in the ROW for widening of the sidewalk or would prefer the status quo, the answer is obvious. What about using the existing road? Well now comes the problem of re-engineering the road for drainage, curbs and the size of traffic lanes.

Re-engineering also requires that large tracts, involving multiple blocks have to be done at the same time. In addition to re-engineering, in many cases, on-street parking is affected. The city recently faced opposition on its proposal to widen sidewalks on Washington Avenue north of the Highway 58 bridge in connection with the bridge replacement because doing so would have reduced the road from four lanes to two in that area.

Looking at past and future capital budgets reveals that the Golden spends an average of $550,000 a year on curbs, gutters and sidewalks and that's considerably more that what it spends on statues, despite allegations to the contrary.

I agree that many Golden sidewalks are a problem and are unsafe, especially those where two people cannot walk side by side or a large baby stroller cannot be accommodated, but I also agree that solutions are not only costly but will result in protests from some of the affected property owners in those areas.

If you have an opinion on this issue or any suggestions, then contact your council representatives and share your thoughts with them.



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CONTRIBUTOR INFORMATION

Ed Dorsey

Golden , CO

Ed Dorsey has posted 41 stories and 3 comments since joining on 2/21/2007. Ed Dorsey 's average story rating is 5.
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