Photograph by Robert Scheer
Emanuel Botelho (left) and Joe Martins work on the curb in front of Saratoga School on Oak Street.
By Sarah Lombardo
Spring may mean beautiful weather and longer days, but the season of romance and new beginnings is also the season of roadwork.
Work began last week around Saratoga to add curb cuts to about 105 corners in the city. The work is an effort by the city to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act regulations by providing handicap accessible ramps on some of Saratoga's most-used street corners. The project, whose budgeted cost of $83,790, will be met by the state Community Development Block Grant, is scheduled to take about two months.
Some of the streets in the plan include those along Prospect Road, Cox Avenue, Allendale Avenue and Seagull Way. Plans for curb-cutting on Quito Road have been canceled pending other projects for that road, according to Saratoga Assistant Engineer John Cherbone.
Cherbone said other street corners have also been deleted from the plan, but other streets will be added in their place. Cherbone said if residents know of a corner in their neighborhood that would benefit from being part of the project, they can call him with the suggestion. Cherbone can be reached at 868-1223.
New median landscaping and irrigation improvements began this week on Saratoga-Sunnyvale Road. Crews say one lane at a time may be closed along the street, but through traffic will be allowed. The landscaping and irrigation work, a capital project approved last year by the City Council, will cost $61,305, and is scheduled to continue until mid-June. Work for both projects will take place between the hours of 7:30 a.m. and 6 p.m., Mondays through Fridays.
Can Saratogans, who suffered through slow traffic and delays caused by roadwork on Saratoga Avenue last summer, expect more of the same?
"Whether there are any delays will depend on what time of the day it is and if there is any traffic," Cherbone said. "But the curb cuts shouldn't cause any delay at all."
This article appeared in the Saratoga News, April 16, 1997.
©1997 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.