City moves for transportation plan
SANDPOINT — City Council members voted to join the Urban Area Transportation Plan and professional services agreement which will connect the many jurisdictions in Bonner County.
The plan included a comprehensive analysis and implementation plan through AECOM Technology Services, Inc. City Infrastructure and Development Director Amanda Wilson presented the plan to the council at the regular council meeting Jan. 5.
The plan will replace the region's current UATP, which is over 10 years old. The final document will serve as a regional transportation plan that defines actions, identifies priorities, provides policy guidelines, capital improvements and funding strategies for the next 20 years, said Wilson.
“Typically you’d receive a [UATP] every five to 10 years, so it is time to review this one,” said Wilson.
The urban area is defined by the U.S Census Bureau. The jurisdictions are the cities of Sandpoint, Dover, Pondray, and Kootenai, the Independent Highway District, and unincorporated areas of Bonner County.
The Independent Highway District owns all the rights of way in Sandpoint and other jurisdictions, said Wilson. The UATP is a collaboration of all districts.
One of the outcomes of the plan is access management, which is how far an intersection or a driveway is from another intersection and the required length of driving lanes, said Wilson. The UATP will look at these requirements across jurisdictions.
“Currently we are all over the board on how we apply those standards,” said Wilson.
The UATP will also look for opportunities to improve safety, non-standard truck access, at-grade railroad crossings and preserve an acceptable level of service.
Wilson said there are varying levels of standard ranging from A to F. Currently the city’s standard is a D, which means there is more congestion at intersections. The city has chosen that option in order to slow traffic and make it safer for cyclists and pedestrians, Wilson told a resident in response to a question
She said they are looking to have the level of service at a D as well across all jurisdictions. This will require coordination with the Idaho Transportation Department.
The plan will also look at enhancing alternative modes, such as walking, cycling, ridesharing, carpooling, transit, and others. In addition, the plan would consider regional connectivity, multi-modal use and being compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Wilson gave an example of looking into Selkirks-Pend Oreille Transit, which serves the greater Sandpoint area, and seeing how it serves Dover and how people are getting to Schweitzer. Also, identifying capital improvement projects that the region wants to prioritize, optimizing partnerships with the GIS transportation maps for each jurisdiction.
The city is the lead sponsor of the plan and other jurisdictions will act as co-sponsors, said Wilson. The city received a federal grant of $150,000 for the UATP. The co-sponsoring jurisdictions will provide the full 7.4% grant match, while Sandpoint is contributing staff time and no direct dollars, she said.
The UATP is projected to be completed Aug. 1, 2023.
Public engagement on this project will begin later this month.
Also at the Jan. 5 meeting, Councilwoman Kate McAlister was voted in as council president.
The Sandpoint City Council meets on the first and third Wednesday of each month. Meetings start at 5:30 p.m. in the council chambers in Sandpoint City Hall. The next meeting is Jan. 19.
Meetings are available by Zoom and past city meetings can be watched on the city’s You Tube channel.