Sandpoint, ITD officials talk 'Curve' compromise

SANDPOINT — City and Idaho Transportation Department officials are working together to reach an agreement on the U.S. 2 Curve project before a June deadline.

The tone was diplomatic at the Wednesday City Council meeting as ITD officials and city representatives hashed out their positions one more time. Transportation officials emphasized that state and national highway standards limit their options to some degree, while city officials offered possible solutions to achieve a design as close to their preference as possible.

“I’m really pleased at the number of accommodations from ITD, but there are still some significant issues to look at, I think,” Councilwoman Carrie Logan said.

According to ITD representative Damon Allen, ITD engineers arrived at the preference for a lighted intersection at U.S. 2 and Boyer Avenue, known as Alternative B, based on a variety of factors. For one, he said it performed the best in their projections and matrixes in terms of traffic mobility, best served freight transportation, featured pedestrian walk signals and required the least right of way. It was also strongly favored by the trucking community and received the most support at a Feb. 28 open house, Allen added.

“The response was not overwhelmingly in favor of Alternative B, but very strongly in favor of it,” he said.

Council members and some community members in attendance said they prefer a double-lane roundabout for many reasons, including reduced maintenance, lower energy costs and statistically less serious accidents. They proposed carving out a section of Pine Street Park to make the roundabout more viable from a construction standpoint and hopefully preserving local restaurant Dubs’ current location.

“A roundabout at Boyer that incorporates donated city property might have significant benefits to all travel modes while preserving town character and safety,” Councilman Aaron Qualls, who couldn’t attend the meeting, wrote in a statement.

In response, Allen said the idea of using city property for construction was worth looking into. However, he added that moving the roundabout to the east would still not address ITD officials’ issues with its performance, and Dubs would still likely be taken out anyway.

Indeed, Dubs was on the minds of many attendees that evening. According to Allen, under the preferred alternative, ITD is looking at a total buyout of the much-beloved business. That didn’t please everyone, including an attending high school student who pointed out that many students would lose their favored hangout if it moved to a less convenient location.

 Other business owners were concerned, too. Some were worried at the removal of several access points to their businesses due to street configuration changes, while others claimed their businesses would be affected by the Curve construction and they had not yet been contacted by ITD representatives.

Despite some concerns, council members were appreciative of several concessions ITD engineers had given the city. These changes included dropping the project to a less demanding service level, lowering the speed to 25 mph, including full-featured pedestrian signals and refuge islands at four-lane crossings and narrowing inside lanes by a foot. The alterations also included eliminating raised mediums on Boyer Avenue, planning separate paths and sidewalks, installing navigational signs and looking into tighter turning radii.

“We think we’ve incorporated everything we can based on everything we’ve heard,” Allen said.

The next step in the Curve project is for city and ITD officials to both agree upon and sign a memorandum of understanding detailing the construction agreements. After an MOU is on the books, ITD officials will work on doing appraisals of affected businesses, purchasing right-of-way and crafting a final design. This needs to happen soon for ITD to have a final design prepared by October, Allen said.

“If we can’t get an MOU signed by June, we’re in big trouble,” Allen said.

Council members made no immediate decisions and tabled a resolution listing their preferred design features. However, many expressed their commitment to making sure the project continued making progress.

“I want to move in the right direction and work toward changes we feel the city needs, but I’m not willing to mothball the project over a few issues,” Councilman Justin Schuck said.