I love to be the bearer of happy tidings.

Last month, I received a bounty. The first came as an update on the question of sidewalks.

Readers may recall my March 1 column, which delved into the issue of South Tampa’s narrow, uneven and sometimes nonexistent walkways.

It’s bad enough on foot, but for people in wheelchairs, these sidewalks are often impassible.

In late February, Paulette Vasey of New Suburb Beautiful wrote in to share the plight of her daughter Rebecca, 37, who has cerebral palsy and operates an electric wheelchair.

Vasey described their difficulty in traversing sidewalks en route to a SoHo restaurant, citing unstable areas around Mississippi and Howard avenues.

“The sidewalks are like ramps, and your wheelchair is really tipped and unstable,” Paulette said. “It gets very frustrating.”

Others anonymously wrote in and shared stories. One woman with a power wheelchair described getting stuck at blocked sidewalks, or being forced into street traffic by the lack of safe walkways.

Help is now on the way, one linear foot at a time.

According to the city, new sidewalks compliant to Americans with Disabilities Act standards will be laid down this year along Mississippi Avenue between Howard and Alabama avenues.

Stretches on Gandy Boulevard between Quincy and Elberon streets, and on Georgia Avenue between Neptune Street and Mississippi Avenue, are also officially on the list.



Ashley gets resurfaced

The second ray of light concerned Ashley Drive’s restoration.

I got a firsthand taste of this project on my way home. It was a rough spot in the early stages, when they peeled back ragged pavement to create a fresh canvas.

Work to restore Ashley Drive between Interstate 275 and Channelside Drive began in mid-March and is now almost complete.

It’s actually an interim step to make existing surfaces more passable while the transportation division conducts more studies. During the next 18 months, planning will continue on how to create more pedestrian-friendly thoroughfares that can support increasing traffic loads.

Meanwhile, this stopgap restoration makes it less painful to cruise Ashley’s once scraggly surface, which now sports a slick new topcoat with bright painted markings.

Construction was tackled by the city’s transportation division, and came with a $250,000 price tag, culled from city operating funds.

What a nice improvement for downtown.