To the editor:

Several letters have addressed sidewalk issues. My experience with the city staff involved the new sidewalk along 15th Street east of Haskell. As the sole landowner, during the planning of this sidewalk I was never consulted by the outside architectural firm, which drew up the plans or the city staff until I received the final drawings in August 2019. The sketch was so small that the course of the new sidewalk was unclear until I found survey stakes deep into my yard. When I met with the city staff about this, the project engineer told me contacting them earlier would not have made any difference anyway. There is a sidewalk on the north side of 15th Street and they could have run the sidewalk on the south side closer to the road, sparing some of my land and trees, and sparing the city some money by reducing the costs of constructing retaining walls. But they were obstinate, making up excuses like “some day expanding the road, about walkers’ safety and about snow plowing.” These arguments were phony given sidewalk placement along the road west and east of Haskell Ave. Do they not care about walkers’ safety once they cross Haskell Ave or leave my property to the east?

So, for all you residents who have a perfectly good sidewalk across the street, but no sidewalk in front of your land (like on Haskell north of 15th), the city is coming for you and you have absolutely no input.

David Frayer,

Lawrence