El Paso County Commissioner Pct. 3

Sparks Sidewalk Project

This past Monday Commissioners Court awarded the contract to CEA Group to provide sidewalks in Sparks and Westway.

El Paso County officials to award design for sidewalks in Sparks, Westway

Officials to award design for sidewalks

By Luis Carlos Lopez / El Paso Times

Posted:   01/25/2015 05:52:50 PM MST

The Sparks and Westway communities are one step closer to getting sidewalks.

County officials Monday are expected to award the environmental assessment and design plans for sidewalks in the Sparks and Westway areas to CEA Group, officials said.

"We have a lot more people in the community who are walking to school. We have a lot more traffic. It's creating a very dangerous situation," said Commissioner Vince Perez whose precinct includes the Sparks community.

"This would provide sidewalks in the main roadways that would create safe, walkable areas for the children who walk to and from school," he said.

Perez said that projects such as the one being awarded Monday are trying to remedy the "irresponsible development that took place in the 1970s."

Perez said that legislation such as the one state Rep. Marisa Marquez D-El Paso, authored and was later passed into law in 2009, helped in the development of projects such as the one underway in Sparks and Westway.

The law that Marquez authored regulates construction of homes in colonias throughout Texas. It requires home builders to construct homes that are up to standard codes.

Jose Landeros, senior policy advisor for Perez, said the county continues to improve neighborhoods in unincorporated areas. As an example he brought up the county subdivision codes which were updated last year. The updates include guidelines such as requiring developers to include parks and open spaces.

The sidewalks in Sparks, will include handicap ramps, along Nonap Road and Peyton Road East off Eastlake Boulevard near Mission Ridge Elementary School.

The other improvements will be on Bret Harte Drive, Landeros said.

"It allows people to get to the park, it allows people to get to the new school (Mission Ridge) they built and overall it increases connectivity in the area," Landeros said.

The county is sharing the cost of design plans with the Transportation Alternatives Program, a federal program that helps fund projects such as bike lanes and pedestrian improvements. The federal funds are administered by the El Paso Metropolitan Planning Organization.

The federal funds will cover 80 percent of the cost. The county will pay for 20 percent, officials said.

CEA Group was one of six firms who bid for the design project.

If the court awards the design plans contract Monday, CEA and the county will then negotiate the payment.

County officials said documents submitted to the MPO in October put the estimated cost of preliminary designs for both Sparks and Westway at about $40,000.

Bidding for construction is expected to take place in the summer, county officials said.

The full cost of planning and construction is estimated at $550,000.

In Westway, located just east of Vinton, the sidewalks will be built on portions of Westway Boulevard, Coach Road and De Alva Drive.

Commissioner Andrew Haggerty, who represents Westway, said he was glad the project was getting underway.

"It's going to do a lot for the communities of Westway and Sparks by giving them sidewalks where people can walk without fear of being hit by car," he said.

Sidewalks for both areas should be completed by the fall.

Luis Carlos Lopez may be reached at 546-6381.

El Paso Times Link

Other Media Links:

KTSM- County Awards Contract to Build Sidewalks in Sparks