With high hopes, the City of Mason earlier this year submitted an application to the Texas Dept. of Transportation for a $5 million grant to upgrade the sidewalks around the Courthouse Square. Unfortunately, that grant went to another Texas city. But, that isn’t stopping the City administration from moving ahead with plans for making some improvements to the sidewalks, although on a greatly reduced scale from hoped.
Appearing on KNEL’s Morning Program Tuesday, Mason Mayor Frank Bartlett outlined what the City plans to do near-term to help make the sidewalks on the square safer and more user0-friendly.
Mayor Bartlett first noted the City is concerned about the safety of sidewalks around the square and plans to take some immediate steps toward that goal. He said the City is in the process of ordering some aluminum ramps and aluminum step unites with hand-rails to help give some safe routs to several blocks on the square — specifically the two blocks on the north side and one block on the west side.
Also, the City will be putting one accessible handi-cap ramp on each one of those blocks and one or two step units. The City will also be tearing down some steps that exist there now that aren’t uniform size and shapes. The purpose is to create some safe paths for pedestrians to get to businesses in those blocks.
Mayor Bartlett said the work on these projects would begin in the January to March time-frame.
