Vienna Receives Funding for New Sidewalk Projects

Funding for new sidewalk projects in the Town of Vienna is coming from the estate of a late councilmember.

The town announced today (Tuesday) that Maud Robinson, a former councilmember and wife of late Mayor Charlie Robinson, left a “bulk” of her estate to the town to build sidewalks over a five-year period.

“She gave the bulk of her estate to the town because she and Charlie were absolutely devoted to the Town of Vienna,” Laurie Genevro Cole, the executor of the estate and trustee of the trust, said in the press release. “Vienna is their legacy.”

The funding is to go toward adding 3.3. miles of additional sidewalks “in areas where they aren’t already planned or likely to be funded through grants or new construction,” the press release says.

“The majority of Robinson’s estate, which has not yet been settled but will total more than $7 million, will endow the Maud Ferris Robinson Charitable Trust, which will fund the sidewalk projects,” according to the press release.

Charlie Robinson died in 2000, and Maud Robinson died last year.

Currently, the town is working to find streets with gutters and curbs that could use new sidewalks. The Vienna Town Council is set to consider the first batch of potential sidewalks at its meeting on Jan. 27.

More from the press release:

Before [the] Town Council makes a decision as to which projects to move forward with, residents on selected streets will be contacted by the Town and given an opportunity to provide feedback…

Public Works Director Michael Gallagher notes that it could take up to two years from identification of a street to walking on sidewalks. The Town will use contractors for this work.

“This is a wonderful gift to the Town of Vienna,” says Mayor Laurie DiRocco. “These sidewalks – and others – help connect places, but, more importantly, they connect the community. Maud and Charlie were all in for the Town of Vienna. We’re grateful that this is how Maud, out of her deep sense of public service and commitment to the Town, chose to pass on her legacy to the Vienna community.”

In addition to the trust established to fund sidewalks, Robinson left $50,000 to the Town for beautification purposes. Cole says that these funds will be used to plant trees and other similar projects.