Downtown street talks en route

SANDPOINT — The first discussions over the future of downtown streets will hopefully take place around the end of the year, according to Idaho Transportation Department officials.

The last few months have been fairly quiet as far as discussions over alternatives to the U.S. 2 Curve, a project rejected by council members out of concern over the width of the proposed roadway and its danger to pedestrians and bicyclists. According to ITD project manager Justin Wuest, state engineers are in the process of researching other approaches. Of special consideration is a reconfiguration of Fifth Avenue, which would flow U.S. 2 traffic away from the downtown by turning the road into a two-way street.

Wuest said his team is gathering data to determine what changes to Fifth Avenue would be necessary for such an option.

Once they have an idea of what traffic capacity the road can handle and what infrastructural changes will be required, the team aims to sit down with city officials to discuss their options.

Wuest believes this process should be complete by the end of the year. If scheduling permits, they could possibly get a meeting set up around the holiday season, he added.

Some city officials have given an optimistic forecast for the project’s progress. Councilman Shelby Rognstad said at a Wednesday city candidate forum that ITD board members and project officials expressed their support in the meetings leading up to the cancellation of the Curve.

“We (turned down the Curve) with the promise from the ITD board we would get our streets back this year, and we would have $1 million in operational funds to revert our streets back,” he said.

 However, Wuest could offer no definitive outcomes for either funding or a project timeline. That will be a matter for the board to decide once preliminary meetings have taken place, he said.

“I personally can’t guarantee one thing or another,” Wuest said, later adding, “So far, there’s no official timeline or funding that’s been designated.”

ITD board member Jim Coleman said that the department supports returning local downtown streets as a matter of public policy and any effective method to divert traffic from U.S. 2 would be up for consideration. However, District 1 lead engineer Damon Allen has also stated in the past that any highway changes must function at least as well as established routes before they’ll be considered.