County, town, village, school district to coordinate and build sidewalk to Fenner athletic fields
By Jason Emerson
Editor
If all goes well, by this fall there should be a stone dust path going all the way from Carriage Lane in the village to the Sean M. Googin Sports Complex on Fenner Road, with a paved sidewalk to follow next year. The project, which has been discussed for years but never brought to fruition, will be a joint endeavor by the Cazenovia village, town, central school district and Madison County.
Representatives from all four entities recently met and agreed to move forward with the project, arranging for each organization to be responsible for particular aspects of the work.
The sidewalk will run from the intersection of Fenner Road and Carriage Lane — where the current village sidewalk ends — up the three-tenths of a mile to the first driveway that enters the Googin complex parking lot. The sidewalk will be on the north side of the road, so it will front Evergreen Cemetery, up past Brown Funeral Home and to the fields. There will be a crosswalk with a flashing yellow sign where the sidewalk crosses Fenner Road to access the sports complex. The light will be activated by push button and will not be constantly flashing.
“As both mayor and as a coach at Fenner Fields, I am delighted that we are moving forward with our plans for a walkway. Not only will it create a much safer pathway for our students to reach the athletic area, but it will be a wonderful option for adults who might want to walk or bike to the fields to watch competitions,” said Mayor Kurt Wheeler. “It is also satisfying that the town, village and school district are collaborating on the project. This is another great example of the cooperative spirit that exists among our local governments.”
Supervisor Bill Zupan, who spearheaded the current push to get the sidewalk idea back into action, said this project is something that has been talked about for years, ever since he has been on the town board, but has never been accomplished. “I’m trying to do everything that has been talked about since I’ve been on the board,” he said when asked why, after all these years, the sidewalk appears to now be coming to fruition. “Basically, we’re going down the list of things people have been talking about for years and just doing it.”
The plan is for the county to remove trees and level the ground along the north side of Fenner Road where the sidewalk will be constructed, and to erect the crosswalk and the flashing sign at the entrance to the fields. The village will erect a new retaining wall between the cemetery and the sidewalk (the current fence is being removed) on which to set the cemetery fence, while the town will pay for retaining wall and also be involved in grading and excavation work. The town board recently approved the expenditure of up to $11,000 for construction of the new wall. The school district will contribute in-kind labor assistance to the project wherever it is needed.
“We recognize that although this benefits all residents, it particularly contributes to the safety of our students as they make their way to and from the Googin Sports Complex,” said Cazenovia CSD Superintendent Matt Reilly.
Work already has started on the project, with the county having removed part of the fence along Evergreen Cemetery and a few trees along the sidewalk route. More trees will be coming down during the upcoming weeks, and a stone dust path created along the entire route, said town Highway Superintendent Tim Hunt.
“It’s going to be an-all summer project because were all doing it as fill in work as we time to do it,” Hunt said.
Zupan said the path will not be paved this year, but will be a hard surface topped with stone dust or a fine driveway mix. The goal is to do the trees, level the land and lay the basic path this year and then lay the concrete sidewalk next year.
“As we get manpower, things will happen,” Zupan said.
