Orleans Complete Streets Panel Directs Single-Sidewalk Design Study for Beach Road

ORLEANS -- March 2, 2026, Orleans Complete Streets panel narrows Beach Road feasibility study to single-sidewalk option. Following a February 3 community meeting that drew 68 residents, the Complete Streets Advisory Committee on March 2 directed DPW Director Calvin Sutton to ask consultant VHB to develop a conceptual design for a five-foot sidewalk using both sides of Beach Road, prioritizing minimal property impact, approximately 10-and-a-half-foot travel lanes, and a grass Cape Cod berm buffer where feasible. Member George Miservis framed the committee's direction: "I think if we minimize this project to what can we do to just improve safety down there by one sidewalk somewhere, I think that's what I would favor." Committee Clerk Stephanie Gaskell also presented a draft timeline under which VHB field-survey results for Main Street would arrive in April, a community meeting would follow in May, and a $500,000 engineering-design article would be placed on the November 2026 town warrant, which Gaskell called the make-or-break moment for both Beach Road and Main Street: "If we can't get $500,000 for an engineering design on Main Street, you can forget Beach Road."