City ponders sidewalk plan

SANDPOINT — Creating a network of repaired sidewalks throughout the city is part of a pedestrian travel plan being considered by City Council.

Councilwoman Carrie Logan, along with former council member Doug Hawkins, conceived the idea, in part, to start much-needed sidewalk repairs in portions of the city.

City Council at its latest meeting tabled the proposal until it can be more thoroughly addressed at an August workshop.

The proposal asks to build new sidewalks as part of a network that will give pedestrians safe walking routes throughout town.

“The purpose of installing sidewalks is to get a basic backbone network,” Logan said. “People may have to walk a block or two to hop on a sidewalk system, then they can go virtually anywhere in town.”

The proposal, a collaboration between the city and local pedestrian and bicycle groups, includes a nine-year plan to repair or build sidewalks in the network.

The council will consider in August whether to take the project to its next phase.

So far, cost estimates run between $25 and $45 per linear foot of walkway.

“We have ballpark estimates,” Logan said. “They are not firm, concrete figures. If council approves the concept, we can develop hard numbers.”

Who will pay for fixing or building sidewalks has been a polarizing issue. Property owners are often tagged with the bill, and the issue of payment for the sidewalk network has not been resolved.

“Some feel it is inequitable for the city to pay for some sidewalks and not others,” she said. “The concept of having the city pay for installation of some sidewalks is not foreign.”

The city has a variety of funding sources, including a federal Safe Routes to Schools grant, to pay some of the costs, she said.

City planner Jeremy Grimm said the network is not influenced by the latest zoning changes as outlined in the comprehensive plan. Instead, it is simply a plan to connect various parts of the city with safe walkways and bicycle routes.

“It obviously plays a role in community planning,” Grimm said. “To make sure there are transportation opportunities available to all our residents.”

The routes would not be relegated to major streets, Logan said.

“I see them more on quieter streets,” she said.

The first-year plan calls for ensuring an east-west route along Ontario Street from Boyer to Lincoln avenues, and Main to Spruce streets via Hickory Glen. The route would connect Farmin Stidwell and Lincoln schools.