FARMINGTON – A new sidewalk to connect pedestrians with Hippach Field from residential areas to the south will become a reality, eventually.
Thanks to the grant writing talents of Sarah Martin, a former University of Maine at Farmington adjunct professor in the Department of Community Health and Recreation, the plan for a new sidewalk to be constructed from Maple Avenue to Main Street at Hippach Field and to continue east to Prescott Street will be a reality.
The hitch is that the federal funding, administered through the Maine Department of Transportation for 2012 bicycle and pedestrian projects, has been put on hold until 2016.
Selectmen recently approved accepting the federal grant of $103,508 and a local match of $25,877, which will be allocated from the town’s sidewalk reserve account. In a letter from Dan Stewart, Maine DOT’s Bicycle and Pedestrian program manager, the Farmington sidewalk proposal has been approved for future funding, which was contingent on securing a 20 percent local match.
Where no sidewalk currently exists, the plan is to construct one beginning at the Maple Avenue and Farmington Falls intersection, run along the east side of the Falls Road down to Main Street, round the corner to the right, duck inside the Hippach Field fence and exit through a gate to the existing sidewalk. A new sidewalk will be added across the front of Hippach’s parking lot to Prescott Street and connect with the sidewalk at Abbott Park.
“The DOT looked at it and thought it (the sidewalk) was much needed,” said Town Manager Richard Davis.
Martin said at an earlier meeting that she lives south of town and found there isn’t a safe route to walk to Hippach Field and into town because of a lack of connecting sidewalks.
The project was discussed a few years ago but selectmen declined to use as in-kind the Public Works Department employees to help construct the sidewalk. Selectman Ryan Morgan said the concern was that it would cause an “extra strain on the department,” if the sidewalk construction work was added to their project list.
Since then the town has saved at total of $28,000 in a sidewalk reserve account, of which selectmen were willing to dedicate funds for the new project.
“The local cash match must be officially in place before it will be considered for future design and/or construction funding,” Stewart wrote. He added that once the local funding has been dedicated as the match for the project, “it immediately becomes eligible for federal funding through our programs….”
This is foolish and wasteful , the last few generations of us just walked down Prescott Str. to get to Hippach. I have a feeling that still would get you there.
What a waste of tax dollars. Don’t people realize where federal grants come from? Prescott street seems like a more viable way to get to Hippach from the area of concern. And it’s already there.
So glad that area will be safer! Nice work Sarah!
With no sidewalk and poor visibility Prescott is no picnic, especially if you’re very young or very old. Besides things have changed over the last few generations farmingtowner. People drive much faster and spend half their time staring at their phone. Telling people to share the road with today’s drivers doesn’t cut it.
Thanks Sarah, I have watched people walking in the road around that blind corner, realizing it’s only a matter of time before someone gets hit. A healthy community is one connected with paths for pedestrians and cyclists.