Medina will put in pedestrian bridge on busy spot of Maple Ridge
File photo by Tom Rivers: This photo from September 2016 shows Maple Ridge Road, just east of Route 63. The Village of Medina is adding a pedestrian bridge over Oak Orchard Creek, near where the signs for routes 31 and 63 are shown in photo.
MEDINA – The Village of Medina will add a pedestrian bridge over Oak Orchard Creek on a busy and dangerous section of Maple Ridge Road.
The Village Board on Monday approved accepting funds from the Town of Shelby for the project. The money comes from a revolving loan fund from the Orleans Economic Development Agency.
The EDA is giving money to municipalities from a fund that needs to be discontinued. The state is requiring economic development agencies to shut down the revolving loans funds.
The state is allowing the funds to go back to the municipalities where there were projects that borrowed funds and then paid them back.
Shelby is due to receive $130,000 of the money from the revolving loan fund. The Town Board agreed to give those funds to village to go towards the bridge. Medina also will contribute some of its own money from a fund that has been dormant for several years.
The projects need to be considered by the state as a benefit to low-to-moderate income residents. Any project that improves handicapped accessibility automatically qualifies from the state, Whipple said.
The pedestrian bridge has been sought by the village for several years but Medina hasn’t received grants which would have also added sidewalks to Maple Ridge, which has become more popular for pedestrians with new businesses and also the presence of a GCC campus center.
Mayor Mike Sidari said area by the creek is narrow and seems to funnel pedestrians close to the road. It has been identified as a safety concern for several years.
The EDA has other money from the revolving loan fund to give to local municipalities. The towns or villages need to approve a project that meets state guidelines by March 31 or else the money goes back to the state Office of Community Renewal.
• Orleans County is due to receive about $200,000. The county has several projects it is considering but hasn’t settled on one yet, Whipple said.
• The Town of Yates will receive about $9,000 and will use that to improve handicapped accessibility at the town hall and parking lot.
• The Town of Albion has about $40,000 coming and has agreed to give the money to village to make Bullard Park more handicapped accessible.
• The Village of Holley is due about $115,000 and hasn’t determined how it use the funds yet, Whipple said.
