New sidewalks could link two prior projects
A long-awaited sidewalk project in North Wales could kick off within weeks.
Council members voted this week to award a bid for their “Center Street Extension” project.
“This has been a very long, laborious project,” said borough Manager Christine Hart.
Since early 2020 council and residents have discussed a sidewalk improvement project along Center Street, starting at what had been an unpaved driveway entrance to the Parkside Place complex in Upper Gwynedd, running east along Center to Walnut Street. The route was featured in a borough-wide sidewalk study presented in 2021, and council approved grant applications in 2020 and 2021 to fund that project and a subsequent “Center Street Extension” project adding further sidewalks down Center to Washington Avenue. Construction began in early April 2022 on the first phase of new sidewalk and curb ramps.
Later in April 2022, residents along the extension route voiced concerns about the impact of new sidewalks to trees and yards of their properties, and that May staff said the first phase of sidewalk construction was done, while talks would continue with residents along the next portion of the route. By mid-July the sidewalk construction was largely complete, and that August a flashing signal was added to a crosswalk on that route, and in early 2025 council approved a declaration of taking for part of a property along the extension route.
During their April 28 meeting, Hart gave an update on the second phase, which would connect the prior gateway project near the Parkside Place complex with the ‘Safe Routes to Schools’ sidewalks built in 2019-20 along parts of Washington Avenue, Fairview Avenue and West Prospect Avenue using federal grant funding that had been awarded in 2009.
“So it will be 100 percent sidewalks along that corridor, connecting Upper Gwynedd Township to North Wales Borough in totality, to the Parkside complex and Nor-Gwyn pool,” she said.
“Unfortunately, there had been some property owner changes in the middle of us acquiring this grant, and doing the environmental study and the logistics and engineering. So we had some right-of-way issues,” she said.
One change from the prior segment: town engineering consultants Bowman and Associates will not be the field inspector for the project, since the federal grant requires the project be bid out through Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission, and inspection services done through DVRPC.
A bonus for the borough: the previously awarded grant totals $770,000, and the low bid submitted by Marino Corporation — the contractor that did the ‘Safe Routes’ sidewalk project, per the manager — totaled just over $542,000, plus an additional $113,000 for construction inspection and $7,700 for PennDOT costs, yielding a total estimated cost of roughly $662,000.
“We were hoping very much that they would not go over (the grant amount), because the costs of construction have changed in that amount of time,” Hart said.
“They have been in the borough, they’re familiar with the borough, and they are familiar with the project,” she said.
The manager added afterward that all outstanding issues with property permissions and rights-of-way have been resolved, adding thanks to solicitor Greg Gifford for his help resolving those issues, and said the groundbreaking and start of work could happen as soon as early June, with timeline details to be posted by the borough once finalized.
Councilwoman Melanie Catanese said she was “thrilled” to vote in favor, and council President Mark Tarlecki said he was looking forward to seeing the sidewalks take shape.
“This has been a long time coming, and it’s gonna really do wonders for us, to finish the connection between North Wales and Upper Gwynedd and Parkside Place,” he said.
Council then unanimously voted to award the contract, and the manager said she’d give updates as the start date approaches. North Wales borough council next meets at 7 p.m. on May 12; for more information visit www.NorthWalesBorough.org.
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