Leftover snow funds OK'd for other ventures

SANDPOINT — Kody Van Dyk has been watching the weather.

As the city’s public works director, weather watching is part of his job, especially in winter when his snow-removal budget melts away faster than the white stuff.

This year, though, thanks to a tame winter, the $90,000 budget is largely intact.

“I think we spent $13,000,” Van Dyk said.

If the weather holds and city crews don’t need to dig further into the cache, Sandpoint could have a small windfall this spring.

City council approved a move at its last meeting to funnel any remaining snow removal funds into a project to improve pedestrian crossings in town.

“Council said if there is money left over, they would like to use it for pedestrian safety,” Sandpoint Mayor Gretchen Hellar said.

The improvements proposed by the Public Works department would cost approximately $160,000 and will include flashing lights at some crossings, reflective pedestrian walkways as opposed to painted walkways, and more signs.

At least one council member, Stephen Snedden, wanted council members to consider using the money for other ventures.

“I think we need pedestrian improvements,” Snedden said. “I’m having a difficult time judging the impacts of these improvements.”

If the money wasn’t spent on improving safety at crosswalks, he asked, where would it be spent?

Traditionally, money remaining in the snow removal budget is used to overlay city streets, Van Dyk said.

Fixing the streets with an asphalt overlay costs between $15,000 and $20,000 per block, he said.

The death of two pedestrians struck by vehicles in Sandpoint crosswalks within the last three years, however, has resulted in a heightened awareness among city officials.

After discussion among council members, Snedden agreed to use the small windfall for crosswalk improvements.

“I would rather err on the side of pedestrian safety,” he said.

Pedestrian safety advocate Molly O’Reilly thinks the proposed improvements make sense for a city touted as pedestrian friendly.

“Recent studies show that when drivers can see where a crosswalk is, they are more inclined to stop,” O’Reilly said. 

The measures, she said, “make Sandpoint even safer as a walking town.”

Additional funding includes $60,000 earmarked for transportation improvements and from money set aside for asphalt overlays, Van Dyk said. The city has budgeted $200,000 for the overlays.

“We can take money from that and do less overlays,” Van Dyk said.

The proposed upgrades include 36 count-down pedestrian signs, six in-lane signs, six spot signs that use flashing lights to notify motorists of pedestrians, and a host of reflective, thermoplastic pedestrian lines and stop bars that would replace painted lines.

The thermoplastic lines, which are melted into the pavement, use impregnated glass beads to reflect headlights, and are more durable than paint.

Painted lines fade quickly, and must be reapplied as often as twice annually, Van Dyk said.

Using money that is already available, the city plans to start on the pedestrian projects this spring.