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Maynard Street in Williamsport will continue to be paved soon, this time from the railroad tracks north to First Street, along with several other city paving projects using liquid fuels money.
City Council has approved a streets paving contract of $811,438 with Glenn O. Hawbaker Inc. after the city looked at two bids.
The resolution was presented by Bill Scott, city engineer, who noted how Hawbaker has been doing this work in the city for at least three years.
Other streets to be paved include Walnut, from Third to Fourth; Locust, from Third to Fourth; First Street, from Campbell to Park; a small section of Park Street; Selkirk, Kenwood up to Reservoir Road.
Council President Eric Beiter asked whether on Maynard there could be more upgrades regarding pedestrian crosswalks to "tame" the road so it is not a "drag strip."
Scott said this work will be for paving only based on the scope of the bid.
Mayor Derek Slaughter remarked how the pedestrian crosswalks additions are part of an ongoing safety action plan and that the city has applied for a federal planning grant.
The pedestrian crosswalks improvements will be a part of that work including on Third Street and Rose Street that will be looked at, he said.
Slaughter agreed with Beiter that "you basically have a four-lane highway" on Maynard.
He observed how traffic is increasing as are safety needs with the kids crossing the road to access places such as Burger King, Sheetz, Wendy's, Wawa and Chick-fil-A, as examples.
He noted how the entrance to the Williamsport Lumber Yards baseball/softball complex also has added traffic and safety aspects that will be looked at in the near future.
Pedestrian crosswalk concerns are "definitely on the radar," Slaughter said. "Hopefully, we can get some improvements soon," he said, to which Beiter said, "Wonderful."