The snow from last weekend's storm was still piled high in Nederland on Monday afternoon, but the sidewalk in front of Blue Owl Books had been shoveled clean -- for the first time ever.

And not because the store's owners have never bothered to shovel the sidewalk before, but because there's never before been a sidewalk to shovel.

The small tract of new concrete will eventually stretch north to the town's central roundabout and southwest to the Mexican Grill across form the turnoff to Eldora.

"It's going to be wonderful," said Mike Cutler, manager of the combination bookstore, coffeehouse and ice cream parlor. "It will help tie this end of town with First Street.

First Street hosts the cluster of buildings that make up Nederland's densest shopping district. To get from there to Blue Owl Books and its neighboring stores on the other side of Middle Boulder Creek, shoppers have historically trod on the side of the road, sometimes squeezed between traffic and a snowbank.

"You were really taking your life into your own hands," Cutler said.

The project is being funded largely with more than half-a-million dollars from the federal government, including $385,000 in stimulus money. Work began in September, after years of planning, and construction is about halfway done, said Paul Turnburke, director of Nederland's Downtown Development Authority, which spearheaded the project.

A couple of early-season snowstorms, including last weekend's, have slowed work on the sidewalks, and Monday the machinery stood idle as the construction company waited for the snow to melt.

And while Turnburke said the development authority has mostly gotten compliments on the projects, not everyone's been happy.

Judith Thackray, a 17-year resident of Nederland, said she's been forced to evacuate her home because it sits so close to the project's construction yard.

"There are so many vehicles, and Nederland sits in a bowl, that the level of toxicity from the diesel fumes is impossible for me," said Thackray, 62, who has been diagnosed with acute chemical sensitivity. "I am being ousted from my home."

Thackray, who has been taking up temporary residence in rented hotel rooms and mountain cabins, said her requests for the city or the construction company to move the work yard has fallen on deaf ears.

"I'm not asking for much," she said. "I'm asking for the relocation of the yard."

Town officials say the yard, which is chosen and rented by the construction company, is not the town's responsibility.

Other residents have voiced concerns about the costs of snow removal and sidewalk maintenance, but Turnburke said the Downtown Development Authority and town are working on a plan that will likely involve some kind of cost-sharing.

"Lots of towns have figured out how to remove snow from the sidewalks," he said. "We can too."

Contact Camera Staff Writer Laura Snider at 303-473-1327 or sniderl@dailycamera.com.