Inside: Avon looks at budget

Avon City Council will take more time to review concerns from residents before moving forward on a preliminary design for an asphalt bike trail on French Creek Road.

On July 13, Council decided to pause on moving forward on the French Creek Greenway.

The estimated $1.2 million project is in collaboration with the Lorain County Metro Parks and Sheffield Village.

The Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency has approved a $250,000 grant as part of its Transportation for Livable Communities Initiative in support of the 10foot wide multi-use trail.

However, Council atLarge member Tammy Holtzmeier encouraged the city to look closely at concerns she has received from French Creek Road residents who have questions about maintenance of the trail in front of their properties and questioned whether it would set a bad precedent for future projects.

“Grant or not, would it set an unhealthy precedent to residents that it’s the in thing and we like this and we have money – could this happen in front of my house?” Holtzmeier asked.

Additional residents expressed concerns to Holtzmeier about the size of the right-of-way, who would maintain the trail and liability concerns for any damage to the trail.

City Engineer Ryan Cummins said the city would treat the trail like sidewalks, but Law Director John Gasior noted it was legally questionable if residents would be responsible for clearing the trail in front of their properties.

Holtzmeier added the city is in unchartered territory in putting the trail in front of residential properties and encouraged residents to continue asking questions to make it sustainable.

“I think accessibility and use is fantastic,” she said. “I just have some reservations still about the appropriateness of putting it in front of residential properties.”

Council decided to pause on taking a vote in order to get more of those questions answered for impacted residents.

Council at-Large Member Craig Witherspoon said the city already has invested $100,000 into the trail project and most Avon residents have reacted positively to the proposal.

Witherspoon argued all of these questions can be addressed in the design process and slowing it down is a step in the wrong direction.

Mayor Bryan Jensen noted Avon has expressed a strong desire for bike paths and encouraged Council to make a firm decision.

“We’re going to have issues no matter where we put it,” Jensen said.

After bringing the project through the committee process, the mayor told Council to either move forward or throw out the proposal and move on.

“Either we’ve got to get started on it, or put it back and tell the residents we aren’t interested in doing this,” Jensen said.

Cummins said the $50,000 engineering plan would get the design process started on the project which is slated for construction in 2023.

The 10-foot wide asphalt multi-use trail would stretch the south side of French Creek Road and provide new strategic connections between parks, schools and health care facilities.

In a rendering of the project, the French Creek Greenway would stretch from Detroit Road to the Sheffield Village line.

The project will get a second reading Aug. 10.