City representatives and Homer community members celebrated the construction of a new sidewalk spanning the length of Ben Walters Lane with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Monday.

The project was conducted over the summer by East End Services and consisted of drainage work, a new pressure-reducing vault for the water supply system and 3,160 feet of new curb and sidewalk, according to the City of Homer website. Ben Walters Lane connects East End Road to the intersection at Lake Street and the Sterling Highway.

Homer Mayor Ken Castner, city council members Shelly Erickson, Rachel Lord and Caroline Venuti, and city manager’s assistant Lori Pond led the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

“I’ve lived here 51 years now, and sidewalks have always been one of the things we’ve always wanted to have,” Castner said at the ceremony’s opening. “I think our transportation plan is maturing, making more spaces for pedestrians, more safe spaces for people with handicaps, and more rideable places for people on bicycles.”

Castner said he also hopes that a sidewalk can be installed on Smoky Bay Way to connect to the other sidewalks around town, such as the ones on Lake Street and Grubstake Avenue.

Lord noted how much interest the sidewalk project has received from the community.

“I’m so grateful to have been able to play a part in helping the council move forward in funding this project,” she said to the crowd gathered on the new sidewalk at the corner of Ben Walters Lane and Smoky Bay Way. “I’m so grateful for (city) staff and Public Works and for the community activism that’s happened to really help push council and staff to move in this direction.”

Lord also said that there is “still a tremendous amount of work” to be done, not only regarding sidewalks, bike lanes and sharing the roads, but also in traffic calming measures.

“That’s something that we’re continuing to work on,” she said.

The Ben Walters Lane sidewalk project is part of the city’s ongoing efforts to create more nonmotorized transportation access in Homer.

“This is a big part of what needs to be done,” said Pat Case, vice president for the Independent Living Center board of directors and Homer’s walkability advocate. “Smoky Bay Way really needs a little sidewalk — if we could get that put in, and crosswalks put in on Heath Street, then we would be connected from Paul Banks (Elementary School) all the way to the (Homer) Public Library by a safe sidewalk.

“So those are the next steps, and I’m excited that they’re actually happening.”

Find more information about the project at www.cityofhomer-ak.gov/publicworks/ben-walters-lane-sidewalk-project-complete.

City of Homer representatives and staff and Homer community members gather for a ribbon cutting ceremony for the newly completed Ben Walters Lane Sidewalk Project on Monday, Sept. 30, 2024, at the corner of Ben Walters Lane and Smoky Bay Way in Homer, Alaska. (Delcenia Cosman/Homer News)

A local community member walks up Ben Walters Lane on the newly completed sidewalk on Monday, Sept. 30, 2024, in Homer, Alaska. (Delcenia Cosman/Homer News)