Terminal Park curbs and sidewalks

According to comments from neighborhood residents, "walkability" is one of the amenities they like best about their neighborhood. The Terminal Park neighborhood is conveniently located within walking distance of open spaces, downtown Auburn, several churches and Les Gove Park. Unfortunately neighborhood sidewalks are only marginally beneficial to the neighborhood resident's ability to walk around.

More than three-fourths of the streets in the Terminal Park neighborhood have sidewalks, the condition of these sidewalks make them marginally useful. The eastern half of the neighborhood has more sidewalks than the western half. Most of the sidewalks in the western half of the neighborhood are dilapidated. Some of the curbs in the northwest corner of the neighborhood still have the pre-1920 street names carved into them.

The existing sidewalks in the western half of the neighborhood are generally obsolete. Although most of them are four feet wide, they are not wide enough to accommodate more than one person. Auburn's ordinance for sidewalks was passed in 1957. Fifty years ago the standard width of sidewalks was four feet. However, since then the standard width of sidewalks on residential streets has increased to five feet. Along the ar-terials and collector streets, the standard width is seven and one-half feet.{City of Auburn Design and Construction Standards, October 1998}

In the western half of the neighborhood, several sidewalks are virtually hidden due to overgrown shrubs and trees. It is difficult to walk down these sidewalks without bumping your head into tree branches or snagging your clothes on bushes. The City's sidewalk ordinance {Ordinance 12.36.040} prohibits various types of trees that have a tendency of dropping fruit or nuts on sidewalks, have low hanging branches or have root systems that cause the upheaval of sidewalks. The City's street and design standards states that trees must be pruned to provide at least a 7 feet vertical clearance above sidewalks.

Many Terminal Park residents believe that large portions of their neighborhood lack sidewalks. With just a few exceptions, the sidewalks are there but not too walkable. The use of the sidewalks in the western half of the neighborhood could be improved by pruning these bushes and trees. At some point, the old sidewalks will need to be replaced with wider sidewalks with the proper landscaping setbacks and plant selections.

Curbs and Sidewalks Map