In Guilford, 2017 may well be remembered as the year of sidewalks, paths, and trails. After many contentious meeting and votes over the Shoreline Greenway Trail (SGT) and the Nut Plains pathway, the Board of Selectmen (BOS) is nearly ready to roll out a new way forward this year.

On Feb. 5, the BOS held a public hearing to obtain comments on a series of petitions requesting sidewalks on Long Hill, Little Meadow, and Stepstone Hill roads and Route 1 in the area of the Sunrise development and Water Street. Numerous residents attended the meeting, both to speak in favor of more sidewalks in town and to express some concerns.

First Selectman Matt Hoey said, after listening to the comments, that the board is nearly ready to roll out what it is calling the Guilford Safe Streets Mobility Taskforce. Hoey said the plan will address all concerns raised and will focus on pedestrian safety including walking, cycling, pushing of strollers, as well as concerns related to cars.

“We are very close to rolling out the charge for that taskforce,” he said. “The devil is in the details to make sure we put together a charge that satisfies not only the concerns of those who are in favor but those who are opposed. There will be representation from both sides of the issue.”

Hoey said the taskforce will look at transportation and traffic calming. He said he already has 12 people signed up to participate and hopes the taskforce will put forward a recommendation to the board by this fall. He noted that he is ready to ask the Board of Finance to set aside some money for the taskforce if needed.

At the public hearing, residents discussed the benefits of being able to walk to town or walk to school, as well as the health benefits and the ability to bring more people into contact with restaurants, businesses, and town resources.

Gary Buonocore, who lives in Sunrise, said he walks to town every day and it has been a great benefit to his health. When the SGT proposal went down, he became very interested in the possibility of a sidewalk—an asset he said would be beneficial to residents of all ages.

“I am hoping that we can come up with something as an alternative, but that would let us walk on that side of the road and not only let us enjoy our great town, but be able to access a lot of the great stores and restaurants that we have,” he said.

Peter Hawes said he used to live on Nut Plains, but since moving downtown, he and his wife walk a lot more—something he hopes other residents can do if there are more sidewalks. Hawes, a Guilford resident who volunteers with SGT, said he listened to the concerns about character when it comes to putting sidewalks on country roads like Nut Plains, but said he hopes the town can find a way to balance pedestrian safety and character.

“I completely understand how adding a sidewalk to a country road can stir up fears of loss of town character and other things,” he said. “But when I think about that I think about how Guilford was built on walking and other kinds of non-motorized travel and I think we have kind of forgotten that as we have improved our roads over the years and done very little to make things better for people who want to or have to get around without a car.”

While most everyone in attendance was in support of sidewalks, some residents raised concerns over some of the consequences of adding more sidewalks. Current town regulations require residents with sidewalks on their property to be in charge of snow removal, something that would be a problem for resident Doug Magee.

“I’m a volunteer in town and I’m out during the storms and also my job requires me to be in when storms are happening, so I would like to see this action tabled until the mobility study happens where we can consider how to share the burden of sidewalk clearing with the town or some other methods,” he said. “…I would love to have a sidewalk, but the burden to myself and neighbors and abutters is quite large depending on how much frontage you have.”

Other residents echoed Magee’s concern, saying there should be a provision for property owners as this moves forward.

“We still need to respect the rights of property owners in this process and comments made about the burden placed on those who’s yards of portions of their yard will be impacted—we have to consider them as well,” said Hoey.