Selectboard presses for clearer sidewalk repair schedule after ride-along planned

Selectboard members prioritized updating Bristol’s sidewalk maintenance schedule and agreed to a ride-along to inventory and mark sections for repair. Jessica Teets said residents frequently ask when sidewalks will be fixed and asked for a more transparent replacement schedule rather than ad hoc repairs; Joel Bouvier, Greg Faust, and Public Works Foreman Eric Cota scheduled an 11:00 a.m. ride-along to measure sidewalks and mark areas needing trimming and spot repairs.

Board members discussed repair approaches: Michelle Perlee argued for repairing continuous stretches (entire streets) to create usable segments, while Joel Bouvier warned work should be coordinated with upcoming water-line projects (for example, West Pleasant Street) to avoid redoing newly repaired sidewalks. Kris Perlee suggested using headers and multi-year trend context in budget reports to help plan funding. The Board noted a prior Google map inventory from an intern that can serve as a starting point for scheduling replacements.