CHATHAM – Sidewalks will not be constructed on Bridge Street in addition to current repair work.
Chatham selectmen came to the decision following a March meeting that discussed ongoing repairs to water mains just under the pavement of the roadway.
In the meeting, selectmen cited the lack of a recorded layout or formal taking of the roadway as deterrents to pursuing sidewalks. Furthermore, the board did not favor constructing a sidewalk that would require land takings and easements of private property.
“The infrastructure is the important part. The utilities and repairs are important. I rather like the way Bridge Street looks right now, personally, but I also understand that we have an ADA compliant bridge that is there right now but we have nothing beyond that on either side. We also have a very contentious issue with the neighbors on this, I’m assuming,” said Selectman Shareen Davis.
“I would like to concentrate our efforts on the infrastructure issues we have and if we have money available then we repair some of the existing sidewalks we have along other roadways in town.”
An overall funding plan was voted in 2007, to which the call for sidewalks was tied to. The plans for the sidewalk on Bridge Street never panned out.
Town Counsel Patrick Costello heavily researched the documented history of Bridge Street, informing selectmen that despite no formal layout of the road on record, it is clear and accepted that Bridge Street is town property.
“I would offer an opinion that Bridge Street, by one way or another, has substantially been utilized and historically been utilized as a public way in the Town of Chatham from time and memorial, as far back as we can tell based on the public records,” Costello said.
By TIM DUNN, CapeCod.com News Center
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