Four more Vienna sidewalk projects that will be financed from the Maud Ferris Robinson Charitable Trust have advanced to the final-design stage.
The Vienna Town Council voted 6-1 Oct. 11 to spend $101,700 to have Urban Ltd. perform the final engineering design for the projects.
The initiatives (and their associated costs) include:
• The even side of Alma Street, S.E., from Delano Drive, S.E., to Follin Lane, S.E. ($38,050).
• The even side of Blackstone Terrace, N.W., from Lawyers Road, N.W., to Holmes Drive, N.W. ($25,300).
• The odd side of Charles Street, S.E., from Locust Street, S.E., to Branch Road, S.E. ($19,030).
• The odd side of Symphony Circle, S.W., from the cul-de-sac to Melody Lane, S.W. ($19,050).
Council member Nisha Patel voted against the main motion after failing to get other members’ support to remove the Symphony Circle project from the list for further review. Patel was concerned that ending the sidewalk on a curve in that cul-de-sac might create unsafe conditions for pedestrians who would need to cross the street.
The Council also voted 6-1 (Patel again voting nay) on a motion by member Ed Somers to have additional engineering work performed on that project to see whether it would be worthwhile to extend that street’s sidewalk farther past the curve.
Vienna Department of Public Works officials held public meetings for all four projects this summer. The Aug. 18 meeting concerning the Alma Street sidewalk proposal drew four residents from the even side of the street, all of whom opposed the project.
No residents attended the meeting for the Charles Street project and just one each for the meetings about the Blackstone Terrace and Symphony Circle initiatives.
Former Town Council member Maud Robinson died in March 2019 at age 96 and bequeathed the town $7 million for sidewalk projects.