ITD: Street plan is a short-term compromise

SANDPOINT — At best, the proposed street plan revision will be a relatively short-term compromise, according to Idaho Transportation Department officials.

At a Bonner County Area Transportation Team meeting Wednesday, ITD detailed the impact of the proposed reconfiguration of downtown streets.  According to ITD District 1 chief engineer Marvin Fenn, the proposal has both upsides and downsides, but it’s serviceable as a 10-year compromise until a more permanent solution for U.S. 2 traffic can be finalized.

“We’re for (the new system) just to get out of downtown Sandpoint,” he said.

Changes proposed include two-way traffic on Fifth Avenue with a center turn lane, a traffic signal at the Fifth and Church intersection, no signal at Pine and Fifth and two-way traffic on Church and Cedar between First and Fifth. Southbound left turns are prohibited at Pine Street.

According to Fenn, modeling indicates proposed traffic changes perform worse than the established system but still within ITD’s acceptable standards. It would also allow the state department to remove itself from the heart of downtown Sandpoint — something Fenn said both ITD and the city want to accomplish. By putting Pine Street, Cedar Street and First Avenue back under city control, Sandpoint officials will be able to begin implementing the various improvements called for under the Downtown Streets Design Guide.

ITD policy typically demands that streets function on an average day of traffic without falling below a D on the department’s service grading metric. Where A-level service entails free-flowing traffic with next-to-no delay, F-level service is characterized by sitting at intersections for several light cycles. The existing couplet that controls flow through Pine, Church and Cedar and Superior streets ranks somewhere in the range of a C+ or B, ITD engineers said.

While the proposed revisions to downtown traffic flow would decrease  service level, it should still perform at better-than-D-level service for the next 10 years. However, Fenn cautioned that as a compromise, the streets plan would have a relatively short-term life span. Within a decade, the system will likely hit D-level service, and before that happens, the city and state will have to have a more permanent solution in mind.

“We are going to have to look into a project to enhance the system at that time,” Fenn said.

Sandpoint officials have requested $2.5 million to implement the revised system, between $600,000 and $800,000 of which will be spent on the new intersection light. At the meeting, state representative George Eskridge wondered whether that money would be wasted given the need for a new project within a relatively short time frame. In response, ITD representatives estimated that between $1.5 and $1.8 million of that money would probably be used for long-term changes.

According to Fenn, the ITD board is scheduled to consider the new plan at its Oct. 15 meeting. If approved, the city and state will schedule a public meeting in Sandpoint, giving residents a chance to see detailed plans and file an official comment.