Photo by James Short.
The Pickering Field Sidewalk Project is said to be “underway soon” as the Ambler Borough Council was told during its final approval for the project during the presentation of the borough’s planning committee’s report. One bid was voted, 9-0, unanimously in favor by the committee, to approve the lowest costs for the new sidewalks.
The committee recommended that the borough council approve the bid by Marino Corporation. The bid came in at $306,78. Two additional bids were received by the township, with one over $449,000 and another more than $491,000.
The motion to accept was approved during the council’s June 18 meeting.
Pickering Field, which is located at Park and Highland avenues in Ambler, was constructed on land that was once the infield for the Ambler Harness Racing track. The current park stands as a memorial to Charles W. Pickering Jr.
During the sports season, this park is often bustling with baseball, T-ball, and softball games.
The park, which was constructed in 1960, also offers a basketball court at the corner of Trinity and North streets, as well as a snack bar often in operation during the sporting season. Near this snack bar, you can also find swings and a slide. Restrooms are also available on the land, which is still lined with mature trees.
The planned sidewalk project is to add paved walkways along both Highland Avenue and North Street. The bids were accepted by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT), as announced in a June 4 Committee Meeting.
Marino’s bid came in well under the projected cost estimates, which set the costs around $451,000 for construction. In an email from Borough Engineer Jim Dougherty, of Gilmore & Associates, Inc., to Borough Manager Mary Aversa dated Thursday, May 23, Dougherty said that funding was set at $375,000.
Not included in the Marino estimate are two costs the township will have to add: one for PennDOT's administrative fee of $3,750, and another for a construction inspection totaling $67,800. When added in, the total for the entire project would come to $378,331.
When asked about the project’s timeline by borough council, Dougherty said he knew the contractors were anxious to get started.
“I don’t know exactly when they’re going to start,” said Dougherty. “But we have a preconstruction meeting on Monday (June 24), and I’ll have a better idea of the schedule then. But the last time I talked to the contractor, they wanted to get in there as soon as possible.”
The timeframe for the project to be concluded was between three and six weeks, according to Doherty.
“He told me three weeks, so I’ll say three to six,” said the engineer. “They do have to get a couple curb ramps that were designed to open that project, so they have a bit of a process with that.”
Doherty said that the ramps will determine the ultimate schedule of the installation of sidewalks.
Jeanne Sorg, the Ambler Mayor of Ambler Borough, was pleased with the timeline.
“That’s pretty immediate, thank you,” she told Doherty.
The council members also asked to ensure that the sports season at the fields was complete, and it was confirmed they are in fact over for Summer 2024. The construction should not conflict with any planned events or games.
