Mike Kozlosky, executive director of the Wilmington Metropolitan Planning Organization, said in November 2011 that the city plans to construct the sidewalk in the upcoming calendar year.

Koslosky said the city received a grant in 2008 from the N.C. Department of Transportation Safe Routes to School Program to construct approximately 3,100 feet of sidewalk along the north side of Greenville Loop Road between Bradley Creek Elementary School and Greenville Village. There is currently no sidewalk between Greenville Village and Bradley Creek Elementary School to provide pedestrian access for students who live in Greenville Village.

Kozlosky said the city has been working on the design of the sidewalk improvements and with adjacent property owners to negotiate construction easements to construct this new sidewalk.

The project was delayed because of complications involving a few property owners along the route, said Joshua Mello, associate transportation planner for the city of Wilmington, in 2009.

“It’s been designated and permitted, however we had to redesign it because a few property owners along the corridor have refused to donate temporary construction easements to the city,” Mello says.

The temporary easements are necessary for contractors to step on properties as they form molds for the sidewalks.

“We’ve had to redesign the project to move it closer to the road,” Mello saod, hastening to add the sidewalks will still contain a safe buffer from the roadway.

“We had hoped to have it in place before this current school year and we didn’t make that deadline,” Mello said. “We would definitely hope to have it in place by the end of the school year.”

The project is funded with the $211,000 Safe Routes to School grant.

Approximately 30 percent of the students attending Bradley Creek Elementary School live in  nearby Greenville Village, which contains about 250 mobile homes. There is no safe way for the children to walk to the school, so they currently have to be bused there, Mello said.

Work will proceed on the 3,200-foot sidewalk according to the availability of contractors. “We’re moving this project as fast as feasibly possible and we look forward to getting it in place,” Mello said.

Date posted: October 19, 2009

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