Pedestrian, cyclist survey

Residents are being urged to fill out an online survey to help assess the need for more sidewalks and bicycle routes in town. The survey is being conducted as a fact-finding initiative that town planning and community development officials hope to include in a proposal that has been submitted to the state seeking funding for sidewalk and bike path improvements near North Andover Middle School, said Town Planner Judith M. Tymon. For two years, North Andover has been participating in the federal program Safe Routes to School, which aims to ensure safe routes for students who walk or ride their bikes to school, including funding for projects. As part of that program, the town completed an assessment of projects last September that needed to be done around the middle school, including sidewalk improvements, building new sidewalks along Route 125, and connecting the school to the library in the center of town by way of new sidewalks, Tymon said. The list of projects has been submitted to the state’s Department of Transportation for funding consideration. In the meantime, Tymon said, the town is urging residents to fill out the survey, which can be found on the town website homepage, townofnorthandover.com, by Feb. 24. She said if the state selects a project to fund, the town could include the results of the survey to tweak the project. - Katheleen Conti