A meeting between the Missouri Department of Transportation and Warrenton officials could spell the end of concerns regarding citizens walking along Highway 47.During last Tuesday’s Warrenton Board of Aldermen meeting, Mayor Eric Schleuter announced a meeting with MoDot produced a surprising result.“In reference to the sidewalks, it went very well,” he said. “We did not see any issues. In fact, we got some clarification on things.”Schleuter’s comments come just a day before The Record published a letter to the editor by Laura Zimmer, a concerned citizen, criticizing local officials for their lack of initiative in installing sidewalks along Highway 47. Zimmer cited an April 21 accident when a vehicle struck a pedestrian, and a recent survey which resulted with 83 percent of respondents being in favor of installing sidewalks along Highway 47.Schleuter said the issue with installing sidewalks centered on a potential widening of Highway 47.“It was surprising, but it was very helpful,” he said. “I found out if we were able to afford to put them (sidewalks) up there, and they widened 47 later, MoDot assured us that the cost for the widening would include replacing them at their cost and not ours.”Schleuter said installation of sidewalks had been a source of tension in previous board meetings, but said the board made the right decision in holding off on installing sidewalks. With MoDot now agreeing to cover the cost to replace a city sidewalk should the highway be widened in the future, Schleuter said the city will explore options for sidewalks along 47.“We’re accountable to the citizens for the money being used on projects,” he said. “That would be wasted if we put that out there. This is good news to hear. We are going to explore those options and see what we come up with.”Sidewalk