VERO BEACH — The approval of a $35,000 sidewalk in the Royal Park community between Royal Palm Boulevard and Royal Palm Place led to a discussion regarding unpaved roads at a recent Vero Beach City Council meeting where one member questioned whether the established policies are fair.
Vice Mayor Pilar Turner raised the issue last Tuesday, pointing out that residents can request a sidewalk and, if approved, not have to pay for the construction. However, if residents want a previously unpaved street to be paved, they are required to cover two-thirds of the cost.
“We’re creating a greater dichotomy to the quality of the city, between beachside and the mainland,” Turner said, adding that there are areas on the west side of town that have unpaved streets. “It’s creating a fission through the city.”
The city currently budgets approximately $200,000 annually for the construction of sidewalks, Public Works Director Monte Falls told the council. The city does not budget funds specifically for paving unpaved roads until such time as residents of a particular street go through the process to have such work done.
Part of the process requires a survey of the residents to determine the level of interest in having the road paved, then determining the cost and splitting the amount between the city and the individual residents.
Falls told the council that the policy, which has been on the books for more than 20 years, came about to address unimproved roads in the city. He explained that before the policy, the city allowed unpaved roads.
When unpaved roads were no longer allowed, developers – in theory – paid for the paving and assessed that cost onto the price of the homes.
Turner suggested the council members think of a way to create a more fair policy to help get more of the unpaved roads in what she called the “more modest” parts of town paved.
“That’s a policy decision we’ll be happy to carry out,” Falls told the council, adding, “We’d like to get the roads paved. It’s less maintenance for us. It’s definitely a little cleaner for the residents.”
As for the sidewalk, the Vero Beach City Council voted 4-1 to approve the $35,000 construction project, which would tie the sidewalks of Royal Palm Place and Royal Palm Boulevard together via Leon Avenue. Turner was the lone dissenting vote.
Residents along Leon Avenue had asked the city to build a sidewalk to link the two roads and other sidewalks in the area.
Of the 80 residents polled, 52 responded, according to city records. Of those, 46 favored the sidewalk – or 88.5 percent.
Along with establishing better sidewalk connectivity, the Leon Avenue sidewalk is expected to improve pedestrian safety along the blind curve between Wall Street and Broadway.
Construction is expected to start Nov. 14 and will be done using city public works staff. Work will take about four weeks to complete and will include periodic lane closures.
Drivers are encouraged to use caution in the area.
