FOLEY – Pride Boulevard will get all-new wider sidewalks to improve access in the area near Tanger Outlet Mall, OWA and other attractions.
The Foley City Council voted to approve new 8-foot-wide sidewalks along the route. The new walkways will replace 4-foot sidewalks now at the site.
The council approved the bid of James Brothers Construction to build the sidewalks at a cost of $147,200.
One original proposal had been to add a second section to the existing sidewalk to widen the walkway to 6 feet. Public Works Director Darrell Russell said that after studying the effectiveness of different plans, Foley officials proposed building a new wider sidewalk.
“We waited a little bit and relooked at this and it’s been advised for us to go ahead for us to rip it out and let James Brothers come in and pour a new 8-t foot solid sidewalk the whole way,” Russell told council members.
Mayor Ralph Hellmich said the new plan will be more practical than adding onto the existing sidewalk.
“The problem is that it is a narrow spot and if we do that and add to that, where it is,we’re getting to have to end up putting a guardrail, which probably will probably cost more than what it would be just to redo it,” Hellmich said. “This way it will be done brand new and we’ll be done and we won’t have to do a guardrail.”
OWA donated property on the right of way that would allow the walkways to be widened. As part of the agreement, golf carts will be allowed to use the new wider access route.
The OWA RV park near Pride Boulevard already allows golf carts on the roads. The sidewalk expansion would increase access for residents and visitors in that park as well as workers and others going to OWA, Tanger and other attractions in the area.
City officials said at earlier meetings that the old sidewalk could be used as fill material for city projects.