To help preserve the community's curb appeal, Sicamous council is revisiting plans to replace the interlocking brick sidewalk on Riverside Avenue with asphalt during the water main replacement project.
At council's Sept. 11 meeting, Coun. Gord Bushell introduced a motion to further discuss the plan to move to asphalt after having heard from several Mara Landing condo owners. He also pointed out that asphalt requires a lot of upkeep as roots push up and is subject to frost heaves.
"So that's my concern, and I know the Mara Landing people really want to keep it... and it does need maintenance but so does concrete and so does asphalt," Bushell said. "I just thought we should talk about it... before we start pulling it up and doing that. It's quaint, you know, that's what interlocking brick's all about."
Operations manager Darrell Symbaluk said he could look into options but added that changing the contract now would have cost implications, as would finding another contractor to do the sidewalk work.
"We did talk about it at the budget time... the point I wanted to make about the paving stone is that we could achieve that look with concrete and get away from pavers and get away from the maintenance," he said. "And if you remember, there was pretty good cost difference between the asphalt and the concrete."
Coun. Siobhan Rich acknowledged they had talked about this previously and admitted she'd "missed the boat" on the matter but has been looking into it further and said that as pavers and asphalt both heave and shift, stamped concrete would be the preferred option for people with scooters or walkers. Coun. Pam Beech agreed, adding that it would be "a better finish for everybody, and it's more durable."
Coun. Malcolm Makayev also asked to explore other options, citing the look the district is trying to achieve.
"I think we need to maintain that form and character even if it's at a cost, because tourism is our bread and butter," he said.
In an amended motion, council directed Symbaluk to reach out to contractors and report back on the cost and availability of pavers, stamped concrete and brushed concrete before making a final decision based on that information.
