A recurring issue the Midway city government has been dealing with for a long time is a sidewalk on E. Stephens Street. The city has been working to resolve this with a sidewalk from Gratz Street to The Homeplace at Midway entrance by seeking grants, having discussions from time to time at City Council meetings and by informally polling city residents.
At Monday night’s City Council meeting, Mayor Grayson Vandegrift posed two options the city could explore, the most recent one a result of discussions with the city engineer. 
So far, the primary option has been constructing a new sidewalk along the south side of Stephens Street, which Vandegrift said would be costly, require the construction of three pedestrian bridges, likely take time, and comes with an estimated general cost of around $300,000. He added that given the current environment, there were not many grant opportunities to offset the cost.
The other option is to widen Stephens Street by 3-4 feet to allow for a walking/biking space that is protected by orange, standing, flexible plastic stakes. Vandegrift said this is an approach that could be done earlier with significantly less money. It would go on the side of the road, and would not be affected by the runoff problem that plagues it.
Vandegrift said a decision did not need to be taken at that meeting, but he wanted to pose the options and see how the council and the community felt before any further steps were taken.
“This may not be everyone’s favorite solution, but it’s better than nothing,” said Vandegrift. Noting that it has been an issue for several prior councils, he added, “This is a hard problem to solve with the retention (issues).”
Councilmember Logan Nance said that though he is open-minded, after just hearing the new idea, he said, “(This) isn’t my favorite option . . . it doesn’t solve the problem that there is no crossing. I much prefer a sidewalk; I don’t think many folks will use (the street widening option) as a sidewalk. I’m kind of on the fence.” 
Vandegrift said if it is pursued, a painted crosswalk would be put in place.
Vandegrift said he will request the city engineer to prepare two sets of plans, one for each option. He said he would bring the issue back to the City Council for further discussion, and in the meantime, he and the council can see how residents feel about the two options.
Halloween
The City Council set trick or treat for Oct. 31 from 6 to 8 p.m.

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