We received word last week from the city’s engineering department that major road construction is slated to begin this week with the Park Avenue project.

Living on East Park Avenue now for five years, this has been a highly-anticipated project. While everyone on the street will agree it is definitely needed, I speak for myself in saying I have been a little worried about how it’s going to work when construction is actually underway.

For those of you who may not know, East and West Park Avenues are both one-way streets, fairly narrow, with parking allowed on one side. Some of the houses in the neighborhood, including my own, do not have driveways or garages, so we rely on the street for parking.

We have many children in the neighborhood, at least in the circle, who are often utilizing the sidewalks and playing in the parks.

It is going to be a little bit of an adjustment as we gear up for this project.

Up until this last week, we thought construction was set to begin on the south end of Park Avenue near Mayo Clinic Health System in Albert Lea, but last week we received word that construction instead is going to begin on East and West Park Avenues, specifically East Park Avenue — which is our side of the circle.

I was pleased with the decision to start there first — I’m looking forward to the project being completed. Then I looked at the weather forecast for the week and saw the rain that was expected and let out a sigh.

As can be expected, we will not be able to park near our homes when the road is torn up, and we will have to walk from a distance to have access to our homes.

I thought back to last year with the Lakeview Boulevard project about the access some of those homes had during that project.

I hope things run smoother this year. Though realistically it may be a little bit of a pain, I am hoping to be positive with this project and think ahead to the final outcome when our road will finally be smooth again and I won’t have to worry about potholes as I’m driving to and from our house.

I hope the final outcome outweighs these short-term inconveniences.

 

Sarah Stultz is the managing editor of the Tribune. Her column appears every Tuesday.