Vlad Gavrilovic presented a draft of the final recommendations of the Franklin Park Trail subcommittee to the Town Council at its regular meeting.

The trail connecting Franklin Park with the Round Hill Town Park is a County project; funding will be provided through a grant. The Streetscape subcommittee focused on design recommendations for the portion of the trail as it enters Town from the east and terminates at the intersection of Loudoun Street and Main Street.

The subcommittee has made recommendations on specific materials for crosswalks, sidewalks, streetlights and street furniture.

Crosswalks will be placed across Loudoun Street at Evening Star Drive, Bridge Street, the Town Park, and Main Street. These, per the recommendation of Town Council, will be raised speed tables for traffic calming. Level crosswalks will be installed crossing Falls Place at East Loudoun Street, and crossing Main Street and New Cut Road in the center of Town. Speed tables are not needed at these crosswalks because existing stop signs control traffic.

Sidewalks will be concrete as they enter Town. Storm water management issues will be addressed through installation of drainage pipes. Electrical conduit for the streetlights will be laid within the sidewalks. Concrete aprons will be installed where the sidewalks cross private gravel driveways. The County will replace any private improvements (fences, landscaping) in-kind. Once plans are finalized by the County, there will be a meeting for property owners affected by the plan.

Recommended streetlights will be on 12-foot posts with a decorative acorn-style globe. The lights are pedestrian-scale and will be set at the lowest illumination allowed by VDOT. The plan recommends 29 lights, spaced at 80-foot intervals. They will provide a bit more light than exists currently, but it will be more evenly distributed. The lights will be installed with shields both for "dark-skies" and residential shielding.

Currently, street furniture is recommended only at the entrance to the Town park. Additional locations may be found as other areas of Town are studied.

There was discussion of the grant through which the County intends to secure funding for this project. It is predicted that the County will have difficulty securing the 20 percent of the project costs to meet grant requirements; as such, the County may approach the Town to assist with funding. It is anticipated that the entire trail budget will be approximately $600,000.

The Town Council voted to send this plan to the County Department of General Services, with modifications specifying locations of raised speed tables instead of level crosswalks. The council also requested the members of the subcommittee continue working on the Streetscape project, focusing now on designing wayfinding signs.