House Roads Bill Funds Town’s Tinted Sidewalks

A House-passed transportation bill includes a half-million dollars to install colored sidewalks on three streets in a wealthy Philadelphia suburb, officials said Tuesday.

A Senate version of the transportation bill did not include the money. But officials predicted the $500,000, part of a $217-billion House bill passed earlier this month, would survive a conference committee impaneled to reconcile the two versions.

“It’s very likely to go through. The House and Senate have great cooperation and have worked together on all our transportation projects,” said Rep. Jon Fox, the local Republican congressman.

Ardmore, a wealthy hamlet that lies west of Philadelphia in the Main Line community of Lower Merion Township, would use the $500,000 to install sand-colored sidewalks and gray granite curbs along streets in the quarter mile that separates its train and bus stations.

The town has tried to revitalize its downtown shopping strip with brickwork, trees and flowers since the early 1990s.

Local leaders point out that tinted sidewalks, which cost 40% more than the ordinary kind, would look like the colored concrete used at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla.

“Consultants demonstrated that a colored sidewalk, a softer tone, would be more appealing than one of the standard white or gray cement,” said Ralph Krau, director of the local development committee.

Meanwhile, the House on Tuesday passed a bill authorizing more than $262 million over the next three years for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The agency is charged with reducing the number of deaths and injuries caused by motor vehicle accidents.