Town Board on Monday, February 8 (5:30pm via Zoom) will discuss plans for Forest Home Walkway

An agenda item for the Town Board meeting scheduled for Monday, February 8 at 5:30pm will be a discussion of the latest drawings (billed as “100% progress plans”) for the Forest Home Walkway Improvement Project. The intent is to field any last minute comments and make final updates to the plans in preparation for a future board resolution to authorize bidding once the package is complete. The Town has provided the Forest Home community with many opportunities to give input over the last two years.

There will be a “persons to be heard” section at the beginning of the 2/8 board meeting. For those not familiar with the usual format for Town Board meetings, the opportunity for public input at these meetings is in a special period at the beginning of the meeting. The form of this period is that individuals who wish to speak raise their hands and are invited in turn to the mike where they have up to 3 minutes to speak. Whether or not you are able to attend the meeting in person, you can also send email to the Town Clerk, Paulette Rosa, at PRosa@town.ithaca.ny.us

The new plan has a couple of updates wrt the December plans discussed at the 12/15 Public Works Committee meeting that may be significant to users of the Walkway.

* The December plan had handrails on the right-hand side (going up) both on the lower section and above the zigzag. This plan moves the handrail on the upper section to the left. Note that the plan also includes re-grading of that section so that it has a minimal slope from right to left — just enough to encourage water not to flow down the Walkway itself.

* The December plan offered two options for railing style. The final choice (as clearly preferred by participants at both December meetings) is for a single rigid “pipe” rail. The finish will be similar to rails used by Cornell Botanic Gardens, e.g. by the steps up to the Observatory from Sackett Bridge.

Recap of points highlighted for the December plans that still apply:

* The design follows the current path of the Walkway
* The design has one section with steps, the steep section just before the right-hand bend.
* The design allows for maintenance equipment to come down the Walkway as far as the flat section, where there is a turnaround area. This addresses the concern about dealing with trees that fall over the Walkway.

We will provide the agenda and Zoom details for the Town Board meeting when they are available.