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Senior Advocates Push For Better Sidewalks In Crestwood
By Bill McLaughlin
 | | Photo By Bill McLaughlin From left to right, former Councilman Bob Pigott, and senior advocates Charlie Mueller and Jim Doran, point out sections of sidewalk and roadway in Crestwood they say could be improved, thereby helping Manchester's retirees live safer, more active lives. |
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When it comes to mobility in Manchester and nearby towns, most people think of cars and pickup trucks.
For some residents of Whiting, traveling to nearby shopping areas could be done on foot, in motorized wheelchairs or bicycles. There's a lot more emphasis today on staying healthy and keeping fit, but the effort needs to be helped along.
Some roadways present a special challenge with irregular or non-existing sidewalks, cracked and broken pavement and shoulders too narrow to allow driver and pedestrian to co-exist.
Two Whiting men, Charlie Mueller and Jim Doran, have been documenting the problems and preparing a list for remediation by the town council. A spokes- woman for Mayor Michael Fressola said the two men will present their recommendations in the future and grants would be sought from the state Department of Transportation and other agencies to make those necessary improvements.
Mueller led a group of four that included former council member Bob Pigott, a 17- year resident of the town, and a reporter to see the worst areas. He said there are seven sites that are the worst, most centering on Route 530 also known as Pinewald-Keswick Road.
"The most important thing you have to remember is there are 15 retirement villages in a small area, four nursing homes and two assisted living places," Mueller said. "(People) like to get out and be independent. They would walk if there were safe places to walk."
As he spoke, Mueller pointed to intersection crosswalks with no cutouts for the disabled. Since the construction predated the ADA requirements, the hope is a federal agency would shell out money for a rehabilitation project.
"It's a serious danger for all people, especially after dark," Mueller said. "It's a blatant disregard for elderly residents. You have to look at this through the eyes of a 77-year-old stepping off the curbing in the dark."
Doran, who heads the township senior coordinating council, said he hoped for help from government agencies.
"Anything that gets this project started is a good thing," he said. "Hopefully, we can do this little by little. If so, in the next 10 years, all of this will all be done."
Pigott said he had championed making builders install or pay to put in wheelchair accessible paths in the heart of Whiting, but is dismayed there has been no linkage.
"That's a shame," Pigott shook his head. He was looking at a nice level pavement on one property but it abuts a patch of grass next door. "This is not what any pedestrian should have to put up with. It's an unsafe condition."
Pigott said the issue becomes complex because different roads are maintained by the state or county and others by the municipal government.
Doran indicated some things can be done to make travel safer immediately. Traffic and safety lights stand in the middle of pathways, he said. The utilities could be made to move their poles away from the curbing and farther back on the property.
Mueller said the project could be done in segments beginning with Pinewald-Keswick Road from Crestwood Parkway to Lacey Road. A second spot would be the same roadway westward to Lake Road.
He said there are no pathways from some villages onto main roads, forcing some seniors to walk or wheel themselves through tree branches and piles of leaves.
Both men said they don't expect miracles or quick fixes, but believe that getting more people outdoors without their cars would improve everyone's quality of life.
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