BROOKLINE – By this time next year, the town will be on its way to having a more walkable downtown, with 1 mile of sidewalk being added along Route 130.

The Board of Selectmen discussed the sidewalk improvement project June 11, where they received a project update and timeline from Jeff Adler, the project manager from Bedford-based engineering company Dubois and King Inc.

The company will engineer and design the sidewalk project and bring plans to the public twice before construction begins next spring or summer.

The proposed sidewalks will be installed in two sections – the first beginning at the entrance to the town safety complex and following Milford Street to the intersection of Austin Road. The second section will begin on Main Street at the intersection with Elm Street and extend to the start of South Main Street. The two will connect to a portion of sidewalk already in place in the town center.

The sidewalk project, funded by a federal transportation enhancement grant, has been in the works since the beginning of the year and is one part of an effort to make the downtown more walkable for residents.

Adler told the board the engineering firm will spend the summer surveying the area the sidewalk will be installed, checking to see if there are utility poles affected, talking with residents whose driveways may be affected, and determining the best way to build the sidewalks to ensure proper drainage.

After that work is done, he said, the company will bring their findings to the public to share the information, answer any questions and gather public input before the design stage begins.

Design of the sidewalk system will be done during the fall and is expected to be completed by October.

At that point, Adler said, Dubois and King will meet with the public again to share the plans before construction begins. Various parts of the project will go out to bid during the winter so that construction of the sidewalks can begin by spring.

Selectmen said they were eager to see the design of the sidewalk system and that it would be a big improvement for the town.

“People in town are very excited about this project,” board member Jack Flanagan said.

Creating a more walkable downtown is something the town has been interested in for some time, said Town Administrator Tad Putney.

The transportation chapter of the newly updated Master Plan also discusses an interest in adding more sidewalks.

“Brookline residents have made it clear through public input sessions and surveys that bicycle and pedestrian facilities are very important,” the plan states.

Currently, the plan states, there are about 13,500 linear feet of sidewalk in town. A Sidewalk and Trail Connection Plan developed in 2009 hopes to construct an additional 13,700 feet of sidewalk to provide safe pedestrian travel along the full length of the Town Center, extend toward the high-density neighborhoods of Old Milford Road and provide pedestrian access to the town’s trail network.

At Monday’s meeting, Putney told board members that the town could look at applying for another federal grant to work toward building up the sidewalk system in the future.

“We will hopefully get another crack at it in a few years,” he said.

Danielle Curtis can be reached at 594-6557 or dcurtis@nashuatelegraph.com. Also, follow Curtis on Twitter (Telegraph_DC).