Wildwood Looking to Shield Greenway Trail from Highway 100 Traffic

Joggers and bikers on Wildwood’s Greenway Trail may have noticed that there are portions of the asphalt pathway that run a little close to the vehicles zipping by on Highway 100.

In an effort to help protect those who use it, the Wildwood City Council is planning to install a steel-backed timber guardrail along these portions of the trail, specifically the areas that are within 10 feet of the highway.

Last Monday, the council approved the first reading of a contract with Alta Planning + Design to come up with a design for the project, which can then be bid out to other contractors.

Public Works Director Ryan Thomas outlined the project to the council, explaining that the 80 percent of the $29,000 cost of the design work will be covered by federal funds.

The project covers portions of the trail spanning a half-mile segment of Highway 100 from Taylor Road east toward the pedestrian bridge and will be erected on its north and south legs. Currently, there are small shrubs in place in some of the areas and Thomas told Patch the intent is to keep them in place.

He also spent time going through the process of how Alta was selected after newly elected council member Paul Wojciechowski abstained from voting on the first reading.

“[Wojciechowski] is an employee of Alta and will have to continue to abstain from any other decisions regarding this project,” Thomas said. “He personally will not be involved the completing project.”

Under federal guidelines, Thomas said the city was required to issue a “request for qualifications” for local engineering firms. They narrowed a list of six replies down to two finalists and selected Alta based on their previous experience with this kind of project.

He also noted that Alta had originally quoted the price of the design work above the city’s $30,000 budget and has reduced it by around $4,000.