PORTSMOUTH City Councilor Paige Trace believes West End residents have waited long enough for the completion of the Islington Street Corridor Reconstruction Project.
That’s why Trace said at Monday’s City Council meeting she will make a motion to put the final phase of the project – Phase 2 – back into the city s Capital Improvement Plan for fiscal year 2022, where it had been.
Staff had pushed the final phase – which includes replacing a 129-year-old water line, installing new sidewalks, roadway reconstruction and adding trees, benches and ornamental lights – to 2027.
“I find it concerning that we think it’s OK to give the West End part of a project, and then sort of look at them and say, We’ll get back to you. The West End is a vital part of the city, they contribute to the vitality of this city,” Trace said during an interview Thursday. “A young mother should not have to roll her baby carriage on the street because the sidewalks are in such bad shape.