Another Second Street redo is in the works for Langley.

The city is developing a plan to resolve a street access problem for an empty lot directly adjacent to City Hall. When the street was redesigned in 2014, wider sidewalks were installed between Cascade and Anthes avenues along Second Street. There was one major problem with one lot, however. The sidewalk curb was built with a regular curb, and not a vehicle ramp that dips down.

“It was a design issue,” Mayor Fred McCarthy said in an interview Thursday after addressing the problem and work plan during Monday’s city council meeting.

“We’re certainly saying that it was left out,” he added.

The mayor said the city’s previous planning director, Jeff Arango, notified Langley of the problem after being asked about it by the property owner. Arango oversaw the project to completion in June 2014 before leaving for another position in November 2014.

The access is necessitated by owner Demetri Vasiliades’ plan to split the lot and use the Second Street side for parking. At first, the city considered cutting out the sections of sidewalk necessary to create the vehicle access.

But, after discussing it with the council and staff, McCarthy said constructing a ramp from the road up to the curb, sidewalk and lot, may be a better option.

“I’m glad that we didn’t just proceed, now that the issue of the sidewalk came up,” he said.

“We have an obligation to provide access. What we need to determine now is how to do that.”

Stan Berryman,

director

Langley Public Works

Fixing the omission may be more involved than just a ramp. Public Works Director Stan Berryman said because federal funds were used for the Second Street redesign, Americans with Disability Act-compliance is necessary. That could require the city to ensure it has a 2 percent grade, which may mean jackhammering out at least a couple of segments of concrete sidewalk.

“We have an obligation to provide access,” Berryman said. “What we need to determine is how to do that.”

“A vehicular ramp doesn’t meet any kind of ADA compliance. The best idea is to do it right,” he added.

The lot’s section of sidewalk is about 15 feet long. Of that, 10 feet would need to be taken out for the access. Berryman said it would function similarly to other driveway accesses at the post office, US Bank, and Star Store.

Despite contacting five concrete companies, the city had not received any estimates for what the work would cost. Berryman estimated it was below $10,000 for the more expensive option of jackhammering a couple of sidewalk segments.

The road access mistake is the second redo that Langley has paid for in recent weeks. Earlier this year, concern and distaste for the rain garden near Anthes Avenue reached a fevered pitch, with the Langley Main Street Association lobbying city hall to tear out the sedges and dying vine maple trees and replant based on their preferences and design. That proposal was approved last month, and the old plantings were removed by the city’s public works department.

Despite having a pair of problems with the Second Street project pointed out, McCarthy said it was a relatively straightforward issue.

“This was a project that had very few omissions in it or things that weren’t corrected,” he said.

“This was one that was overlooked,” he added.

No deadline was set, Berryman said, but the city has made a commitment to Vasiliades to install the access.