Year in Preview: Sidewalk extension

When it comes to making Homewood more walkable, the sidewalk construction on Rumson Road will be the major project of 2016.

The project will connect existing sidewalks on Rumson between Windsor Drive and Yorkshire Drive, which includes a hill that limits visibility for drivers and pedestrians. Vanessa McGrath in the city department of engineering, planning and zoning said Rumson Road will be the only sidewalk project until its expected completion in the first half of 2016.

“We’re just connecting the pieces of sidewalk to make [Rumson Road] a little safer,” McGrath said.

Rumson is a major project because of the difficult terrain, McGrath said. The city has to move a sanitary sewer line and construct retaining walls as they build the sidewalk.

“It’s not a fun one to do. We’ve done all the easy ones. We’ve got them out of the way,” McGrath said.

After the Rumson project is complete, the city will make plans for other sidewalk projects through the year. Finance Department Director Melody Salter said $100,000 is budgeted in 2016 for new sidewalks and $50,000 for repairs, though the council recently amended the budget to include some rollover 2015 money for completion of the Rumson project.

As for the Greenway in West Homewood, McGrath said that the city will continue acquiring right-of-way access and easements to construct the path, but there are “too many moving parts” to estimate a timeline for construction to begin.