City to propose two options for Mayfair sidewalks

While sidewalks have not been finally approved for Mayfair Drive, the public works committee has decided to draw up two possible paths so residents can see how their homes and yards will be affected.

A committee meeting was held on July 13 with a number of Mayfair residents, who have been discussing the possibility of sidewalks for months. The homeowners continue to have mixed feelings about the proposed project, with proponents citing increased safety and walkability to other parts of Homewood and opponents countering that the sidewalks will damage trees and landscaping and may not be necessary.

Since their last meeting, Building, Engineering and Zoning Department employee Greg Cobb has studied the possibility of narrowing Mayfair and building the sidewalk on the south side of the road, where more homeowners support the idea.

However, Mayfair Drive is only 19 feet wide and must be a minimum of 18 feet in order for fire trucks to use the road, so a road diet is not possible there. Additionally, Cobb said some of the steeper driveways on the south side could not accommodate the change in grading if they were partly flattened for the walkways. Cobb noted many smaller cars would be likely to scrape the driveways after the sidewalks are installed.

Building on the south side of the road also adds the expense of creating one to two-foot retaining walls on steep yards. The north side is flatter, but there are more trees, landscaping and hardscaping that would have to be removed or worked around, as well as more people who oppose the sidewalks.

Cobb said the city typically rebuilds invisible fences or irrigation systems disturbed by their projects, but any landscaping or construction by homeowners in the city's right of way would have to be replaced at the resident's expense.

"The intent is to do as little damage to the structure," Ward 2 Representative and committee chair Vance Moody said to a resident concerned about her hardscaping.

Mailboxes are also problematic. Since there isn't enough room to construct sidewalks in the existing road, building them between mailboxes and homes means taking up more of Mayfair residents' yards. On the other hand, building between the road and mailbox makes it likely that mail carriers will drive up onto the sidewalks and damage them, Cobb said.

Many of these concerns were unable to be answered because a final path for the sidewalks has not been drawn out. The lack of a definite plan also means the city cannot estimate the cost of the project. Because of resident questions on both points, Cobb and city employees will study each property individually and see what options are preferable for homeowners for the portion of the sidewalk at their home.

This information will be brought together to make a plan for sidewalks on the south side of Mayfair and a plan for the north side, as well as budget estimates. Cobb recommended residents look at existing sidewalks on Edgewood Boulevard and Windsor Drive for examples of how the sidewalks can be built around some obstacles.

"All I want to do is get from one end to the other with tearing up the least amount of stuff I can," Cobb said.

Once these two options are completed, which Ward 4 Representative Barry Smith said would likely take several weeks, another special committee meeting will be called to present the plans to residents and answer questions. Based on that feedback, the committee can decide to modify, approve or reject the sidewalk proposals, which will then be discussed by the full council for approval.

The meeting date, once it is determined, will be posted on the city website, homewoodal.net.