City: Curve must be pedestrian friendly

SANDPOINT — City officials want to see more pedestrian considerations  as they put together the U.S. 2 Curve.

Council members met in special session last week to put together a unified opinion on the Curve as presented by ITD at a Feb. 28 open house meeting. The changes largely reflect council members’ hope for a design philosophy that combines smooth vehicle traffic with safe pedestrian and bicyclist access.

The council members based many of their recommendations to ITD off a list provided to them by the Sandpoint Pedestrian and Bicycle Committee, which listed a series of features about the Curve’s preliminary design that could prove problematic to foot travel. After a little work, they revised and expanded the list to 40 distinct points on design features, amenities and other considerations.

“In general, design for an urban, complete street environment,” city officials wrote in their opinion. “Take into account all users of the right of way, (including) pedestrians, bicyclists, businesses, freight and through-traffic.”

Overall, the council’s preference is that the couplet section of the Curve be 38 feet wide from curb to curb with a turning radii at intersections between 12 and 15 feet. Additionally, members call for the extension to be designed with a speed limit of 20 to 25 miles per hour and a lane width of 10 feet. According to City Planner Jeremy Grimm, shrinking the lanes down from 12 to 10 feet provides motorists with enough room to navigate while prompting a psychological response to drive slower.

In terms of pedestrian accommodations, city officials want landscaped safe zones for pedestrian at all crossings over two lanes, LED traffic and pedestrian signals with disability-friendly features, a marked pedestrian crossing at Sixth Avenue, a signalized intersection at Superior Street and Florence Avenue and ADA compliance throughout the entire design. The council also specifically highlighted Oak Street as an important pedestrian route that should be kept as safe as possible.

Police Chief Corey Coon and Fire Chief Robert Tyler also emphasized the importance of maintaining access to Pine Street while traveling northbound on Boyer Avenue. On the same note, access to Lake Street while southbound on Boyer is equally important. City officials also want to see the medians along Boyer Avenue in the current Curve design eliminated to make access easier for emergency vehicles. Finally, council members want all signals and emergency vehicles fitted with Opticom signals that automatically switch traffic lights to grant right of way.

While the list contains many more points for ITD’s consideration, city officials said the main objective was to ensure the Curve is as unobtrusive a presence to Sandpoint living as possible.

“This project has the potential to dramatically affect commerce, safety and quality of life for the citizens of Sandpoint and the region,” the city’s opinion states. “We feel the above comments are to the mutual interest of both the city and ITD.”