Proposed streetscape improvements to some streets in Lewes prompt a lengthy discussion on sidewalk widths and curb extensions.
The proposal, presented by GMB Architects and Engineers’ Andrew Lyons, addresses West 4th Street and Park Avenue. Among the proposals are changes to lane width and the addition of bumpouts - areas where the curb juts out into the street to provide space for trees and a way to slow traffic.
But much of the discussion among City Council members centered on the intricacies of sidewalk widths. Lyons told council members that the sidewalks in the 4th Street and Park Avenue area can vary in width from four to five feet. While some residents in a public hearing opposed widening sidewalks, Lyons noted that narrower sidewalks can raise concerns around accessibility for those with mobility challenges.
"Going down to a four foot sidewalk can have the perception of reducing accessibility,” he explained. “That's something that we typically do not recommend.”
Instead, he recommended making them all five feet wide, bringing them into line with city standards.
While acknowledging the pushback from some in the neighborhood, Vice-Mayor Khalil Saliba said he supported the wider sidewalks where necessary.
“I know there were some concerns about it being too wide, looking a little suburbia-like, but I mean, safety seems to be the main point you're making,” he said.
Mayor Amy Marasco was more skeptical, however.
“One size doesn't fit all,” she said. “And so this community keeps telling us we don't want to look like every other community or every other sidewalk or every other street in Lewes.”
The inclusion of bump-outs, or curb extensions, sparked less discussion. Lyons noted that they can serve to calm traffic and add space for shade trees.
However, support at the public hearing among residents for bump-outs was tepid at best. Councilman Joseph Elder, who has been leading a committee examining parking problems in the city, noted that doing away with bump-outs could create more space for parking.
But Councilman Tim Ritzert was not convinced, citing the need for shade trees and noting that bump-outs would create ideal spaces for those trees.
“I understand that we would have some reduction in parking,” he said. “But the fact that we would have more space to actually achieve a tree canopy with street trees that would actually provide a canopy over the street - it's an opportunity that will be lost if we do not consider bump outs along that whole street.”
After lengthy discussion, council members unanimously approved a compromise package of options that makes sidewalk widths flexible between 4.5 and 5 feet, eliminates all but one of the proposed bump-outs, and narrows travel lanes on 4th Street by one foot, while widening lanes on Park Avenue.
Planning and design work on the streetscape project will continue, now that council has given GMB more direction.
