City, DOT compromise on sidewalk width

The state agreed to narrow the width of the proposed road improvements to allow more sidewalk to remain.

By: Linda Seida
   LAMBERTVILLE — J. Stacy Rogers, a 57-year-old city homeowner, said he was afraid Monday that no one would listen to his concerns.
   He realized he was in danger of losing a foot of sidewalk space as the New Jersey Department of Transportation prepared to excavate the sidewalks and curbs in front of his South Main Street home to begin road improvements.
   There had been more than 5 feet of sidewalk there, Mr. Rogers said. The DOT planned to trim it to 4 feet.
   "I felt that with two people walking either way, somebody would have to step out on the street," Mr. Rogers said. "They could get clipped by traffic."
   Also, he said, "I just don’t want traffic 1 foot closer to my house. It’s already 5 feet from my porch."
   By Monday night, when Mayor Del Vecchio and the City Council met for a regularly scheduled agenda meeting, Mr. Rogers’ concern had been added to the lineup for discussion.
   "The key word was safety," Mr. Rogers said. "And that registered with the mayor."
   When the evening was over, the mayor and council members had agreed to ask the DOT through a resolution to narrow the width of the proposed road improvements to allow more of the sidewalk to remain.
   Mr. Rogers estimated he would lose about 6 inches of sidewalk now instead of an entire foot.
   "It was a compromise," he said.
   Mayor Del Vecchio said the DOT had been trying to keep one lane of the road to a 13-foot width from the centerline to the curb, but now the agency has agreed, "It would not be anymore than 12 feet."
   The mayor praised the DOT’s responsiveness.
   He said, "The DOT was more than helpful in accommodating this issue."
   Public Works Director Paul Cronce walked the street with the DOT’s resident engineer Tuesday morning as a crew prepared to pour the sidewalks and curb.
   The work is phase one of a four-phase, $9.4 million drainage and reconstruction project planned for Main Street (Route 29). The first phase extends between Mount Hope and Bridge Streets, and should be completed before the end of the year.