Downing Street/Butner Road (FY 2020-22 Pedestrian & Biking Improvement)

When a project is in the concept stage, there are general guidelines from the funding authority regarding project scope, including a side for construction. However, the project design team walks the project location and completes survey of the project area. Then, a decision is made regarding which side to construct the sidewalk on one side or another. Other variables must also be considered when selecting which side to build a sidewalk, including:

• Existing features in the public road right-of-way (ROW), such as trees, overhead and underground utilities, etc.
• Need for permanent ROW easements or dedications
• Drainage, ditches
• Survey details such as topography, slopes, large amounts of ground cut or fill
• Location of facilities and users, such as a school, apartments, etc.
• Tie into other existing sidewalks or paths
• Possible future projects or extensions

As the design has advanced, we determined the sidewalk will be placed on the south side of Downing Street-Butner Road.

Budget is often a primary consideration that limits ability to build on both sides of a road at the same time. Sometimes other considerations are reviewed (see above for sidewalk placement considerations).

The project web page will be updated throughout the project development. Notices are also mailed and residents are invited to attend open houses, most of which have moved to an online format due to COVID-19. Inquiries can also be made via phone or email.

After survey and preliminary design, staff will develop design details for needed easements or dedications. These details and are then provided to County Right-of-Way staff, who will reach out to impacted property owners.

For a project with adequate existing right-of-way or few ground topography issues, project easements may be minimal. However, other projects may have more needs. Often during construction, temporary access on a small section of the project may be required during construction (such as tying in a driveway thru a sidewalk to the roadway, filling a ditch line, installing storm pipe, removing a tree, etc.).

Property owners are offered just compensation through the Right-of-Way staff acquisition process for easements (permanent or temporary).

If an easement is needed, Right-of-Way staff will be contact property owners directly. We encourage everyone to stay engaged with the project by visiting the project webpage ad participating in the open house.

In many cases future sidewalks may be located entirely within the public road right-of-way, with no direct impacts to adjacent parcels. In these cases, any features in the public right-of-way are subject to removal with no compensation.

Generally, the right-of-way or acquired easements will be cleared of features impacted by the pending construction. Some details about what is cleared:

• Vegetation such as trees, mowed or manicured plantings and overgrown bushes may be cleared.
• Typically, mailboxes are in the existing public right-of-way. In these instances, mailboxes may be temporarily relocated during construction.
• Prior to construction, property owners will be provided an advance notice so they have an opportunity to remove private features (such as irrigation lines, sprinkler heads, ornamental vegetation, decorative lawn features, walls, etc.). Any features remaining in the right-of-way at the start of construction are subject to removal by the contractors for disposal.

Once the project is completed, areas disturbed by construction will be put back to similar or better conditions (including seeding or bark dust). Related details are often explained during the easement acquisition process.

We recognize the many pedestrian and biking needs in Washington County, which far outweigh available resources. As one way to address these needs, we maintain a list of candidates for pedestrian and biking improvements. Current improvement candidates can be viewed on the Pedestrian and Biking Improvement Candidates Map.

If there is a specific sidewalk or biking improvement you would like to propose, please use the Pedestrian and Biking Improvement Proposal Form.

Candidates are reviewed when funding becomes available, and candidates eligible for that funding are then considered. Currently, the only program with funding for pedestrian and biking improvements is the URMD Pedestrian and Biking Improvement Projects program. To be eligible for that program, candidates must be located within the Urban Road Maintenance District (URMD).