Almost every morning, Julie Warren walks her dog along High Street. But she doesn’t feel safe doing so because the sidewalk is both narrow and close to the road.
“All the times that I would walk with my kids in their stroller or their wagon or whatever, or them wanting to walk to their friend's house and how nerve-wracking it was,” she said. “I also will ride to campus on my bike sometimes, and riding on the street is, especially in some parts, a little scary.”
Warren has lived on High Street for over 20 years. She thinks the current sidewalk is too narrow and not accessible. She’s okay with the city taking some of her land to build a multiuse path to make the area safer to travel through.
“I absolutely will feel so much safer and feel safer for all of the kids who are walking to school along that path each morning,” she said.
The city will install the multiuse path along the east side of High, from Hunter Avenue to Arden Drive. It’ll connect to the existing multiuse path further south on High. The project also involves replacing two existing traffic signals and installing new stormwater infrastructure and improving crosswalks along the corridor. The project will not impact the cemetery on the corner of High Street and Hillside; the driving lanes will become narrower but still be maintained.
Senior Project Engineer Neil Kopper said the project aims to improve safety and mobility in the area.
The current sidewalk is about five feet wide; most of the sidewalk along the corridor doesn’t have a grass buffer between it and the street. The new multiuse path will be 10 feet wide, with a five-to-six-foot-wide grass buffer between it and the street.
To get the extra space, the city went through a right-of-way acquisition process, Kopper said, and also gathered public input. It worked with property owners to determine an amount to pay them for the land being taken, based on how much land is needed and on appraised property value.
Kopper said he’s gotten mixed reactions from residents in the area about the project. While some feel unsafe traveling along the street and wanted improvements, other residents living along High were unhappy with how much land the city took.
Some people WFIU/WTIU News spoke to whose houses are close to the street are upset about losing part of their driveways and loss of parking space. Others with children said it’s worth it for the city to use some of their land for a bigger path so walking and biking will become safer.
Warren thought the city was fair when it paid her about $40,000 for just under 0.03 acres, or 12 to 15 feet into her front yard.
But it was a bit more than she was expecting.
“It was a little bit surprising and kind of disappointing,” she said. “…At this point, it's like, well, if that's what's needed to make this a better community resource and to make it accessible and walk and bike and kid and animal friendly, then that's what we should do.”
The new path will be close to two trees Warren has planted, which she hopes to keep. Even though part of the land includes her driveway and some of her front yard, it won’t be too disruptive.
“We're lucky because we have a long looping driveway that has another entrance as well, connects to the side street,” she said. “So, I don't feel like it's going to be very disruptive to the way we normally use the space. For sure, the sidewalk's going to be closer to our front porch, and so, Sunday mornings when I'm drinking my coffee, there might be a few more hellos.”
Matt Donovan, who has lived on High Street for 25 years, said approximately 10 feet of his front yard will be used for the new path; he wouldn’t say how much he was compensated for that land. While he doesn’t like the concept of eminent domain, he understands the project will make traveling along the busy road safer.
“Hav[ing] the kids be safer is a positive thing for us, so I think we're more community minded,” he said. “Of course, it'll be closer to our porch. It'll be having other folks closer to our area. We will put our fence back up.”
Donovan said since his front yard is bigger, the loss of land won’t impact him as much as those who are closer to the road.
“I'm very sensitive to some of our neighbors who are literally losing their entire driveway,” he said. “I don't know how where they’re going to be able to park…when you lose pretty much your whole driveway on that frontage, that'll be a much bigger impact.”
Jane Smith has lived along the street for 10 years. While she’s okay with the city taking a chunk of her land, she doesn’t think it’s for the right reason. Instead of building a multiuse path, she thinks the city should use the space for a third driving lane. She noted that on the corner of High and Maxwell Lane, it’s hard for city buses to make the turn.
“They round the corner there, and it takes the entire corner for them to turn,” she said. “Any traffic that is backed up has to reverse and give them more space in order to use the entire two lanes to turn.”
Smith said she feels safe walking along High on the current sidewalk. She doesn’t see any benefits to the new widened path that’s coming.
“The sidewalk seems to be plenty wide for pedestrians, runners, dog walkers, of which we have quite a few all year round,” she said.
Construction, estimated to cost about $4 million, should be completed by the end of next year.
