FENWICK ISLAND – Officials say commitments from commercial property owners will allow the Town of Fenwick Island to commence a long-awaited sidewalk construction project.
Last week, town officials met with Century Engineering representative Drew Boyce and commercial property owners to discuss an upcoming sidewalk project along Coastal Highway.
With a construction firm selected and design plans approved, Mayor Natalie Magdeburger said the town is now waiting to secure easements from property owners within the five-block project area.
“We have the ability to do five blocks, and we’re asking people to sign temporary and permanent easements,” she explained. “We have to have a commitment of at least three full blocks. Assuming we have that, we can get started. But ideally, I’d like to do all five.”
A town-led sidewalk construction project began in earnest last year, when the Fenwick Island Town Council signed off on a contract with Century Engineering to begin design work for the first phase of construction.
With more than $600,000 set aside, officials say the town will be able to install sidewalks along five bayside blocks from Dagsboro to Indian streets. However, officials say they are currently in the process of securing easements that will allow contractors to enter neighboring properties to perform the necessary work.
“We’ve got to get these easements in because that’s the last thing holding up the pre-construction meeting we need to have,” Magdeburger told property owners last week. “Once we have that, we can get our contractor committed to this project.”
Magdeburger added the contractor, A-Del Construction, was hoping to complete at least three blocks.
“We’ve got to get three blocks for it to be worth it for them,” she said. “Let’s use every penny we’ve collected and get all of these blocks done.”
During last week’s meeting, Boyce outlined the town’s plans for the sidewalk construction project. The idea, he said, is to complete one block each week. Construction crews will also be tasked with making any necessary adjustments to neighboring commercial properties.
“We will try to limit disturbances,” he said.
Officials say Fenwick Island has waited decades for the Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT) to complete a sidewalk construction project in town. And while the project is currently listed in the agency’s Consolidated Transportation Plan, officials say it will take years for the project to come to fruition.
“Looking at the schedule, it’s two years of design and two years of working with property owners …,” Boyce explained. “Currently, at least in public documents, there is no funding for construction.”
To that end, Magdeburger said the town is prepared to pay for the first five blocks of sidewalks. She said each block will cost roughly $100,000 to complete.
“I’m pushing the state to do the rest of it, because there are certain things we can’t do,” she said. “They’re just too costly.”
Commercial property owner Tim Collins questioned the benefit of participating in a town-led project.
“What is the downside if you wait for the state to come in?” he asked.
Boyce noted a DelDOT-led project would look different than a town-led project.
“They are going to be looking at access management techniques,” he said. “So they will be looking at all curb cuts, recessing those. In all likelihood, they will be looking to close as many as they can.”
Officials added that the town could better control the timing of the project, and would work with commercial property owners to relocate or reconstruct signage, planter boxes and other items encroaching on the right-of-way.
“The town is coming up and saying they will help with all those things,” Boyce said.
Magdeburger argued the town-led sidewalk project would be beneficial to both pedestrians and commercial property owners, as it would improve access.
The first phase of the project calls for 5-foot-wide, ADA-compliant sidewalks, as well as a buffer area between the sidewalk and neighboring commercial properties.
“All along the idea was to get sidewalks to the more commercial areas of our town so we can make it easier for people to walk there …,” she said. “This is something that is good for the town, good for the businesses, and we want to pay for it. We want to make sure it gets done correctly.”
Magdeburger added that the project could also improve traffic safety along Coastal Highway.
“It will also help to slow down the traffic that comes through town …,” she said. “The whole idea of having pedestrians using walkways, using sidewalks, is another subtle marker to drivers that this is no longer a highway, but a community.”
Magdeburger ultimately argued that the town would install the sidewalks while working with owners to ensure the project would not affect their properties.
“We are ready to go, we just need these easements signed,” she said. “Whatever the issue, we will work with you to make it right.”
