The sidewalk project is in an early stage with no official timeline yet, though the engineers at KSPE said that the town council can expect their final report on the feasibility study by the end of June.

“The objective of this project is to plan for safe pedestrian sidewalk on Wesvalley Road and Cummings Road,” said Khar Suozzo, senior engineer at KSPE.

The potential sidewalk would extend from the start of Wesvalley Road, where it intersects with Saranac Avenue, and continue down Wesvalley until it reaches Cummings Road. It would then extend up Cummings Road to the parking lot for the Shipman Youth Center, where it would adjoin with a sidewalk owned by the village of Lake Placid that currently ends at the youth center.

The sidewalk would be a little more than a mile in length and about five feet in width. At the Saranac Avenue and Wesvalley Road intersection, the sidewalk would start on the east side of Wesvalley, next to where Crossfit Lake Placid is currently located. Near the intersection of Wesvalley, Nash Street and Sherwood Street, there would be a road crossing and the sidewalk would switch to the west side. At the intersection of Wesvalley and Cummings roads, there would be another crossing, and the sidewalk would continue up Cummings.

Suozzo said KSPE is currently working on an engineering report. A survey and site visit are planned for the end of March or beginning of April and a final report will be given to the town council by the end of June, which would include a more detailed plan and a cost estimate.

Part of the planned sidewalk lies within the bounds of the village of Lake Placid. Town Supervisor Derek Doty said that the town council wants to have a finished feasibility study and cost estimate on hand before deciding if North Elba will take on the whole project or approach village leadership for a partnership.

Doty said that “a major part” of the feasibility study so far has been getting in contact with the more than 70 property owners who live along the sidewalk’s proposed route.

“We (need to) determine whether easements are needed or their properties lie within the rights of way,” he said.

The sidewalks will not narrow the roadways at all, according to Doty. Residents along Wesvalley would not be held responsible for clearing the sidewalks in the winter. Wesvalley is a town and village road, so North Elba’s highway department would likely be responsible for maintenance.

After the feasibility report and conceptual design is received by the town council, they will need to complete any other preliminary planning and begin to apply for permits and grant funding. The timeline of the project relies on the availability of funding, according to Councilor Emily Kilburn Politi.

Kilburn Politi said that North Elba has few sidewalks — just a portion of the sidewalk around Mirror Lake and one near Lake Placid Elementary School. This is the first sidewalk project the town has undertaken in a while.

“This has been an ongoing conversation for years, but definitely MacKenzie Overlook and Fawn Valley, those projects, those projects pushed it forward,” she said.”

Both housing projects are located on or near Wesvalley Road. Kilburn Politi added that Wesvalley residents have also reached out to the town council to request sidewalks, as well as drivers concerned about pedestrian safety.