Council approves second phase of Division Avenue pedestrian safety initiative

SANDPOINT — A project to improve pedestrian safety along Division Avenue will move forward after Sandpoint City councilors approved an agreement with an organization administering federal funds during a Feb. 19 meeting. 

When the agreement with the Local Highway Technical Assistance Council is formalized, Sandpoint will receive $250,000 to help fund a new sidewalk and planter strip on a two-block section of Division between Superior and Pine streets.

During the meeting, Public Works director Holly Ellis said the city has known about the need to address safety concerns along the roadway and is working toward improving pedestrian infrastructure on a 10-block section of the road adjacent to three schools, two churches and Sandpoint’s public library. 

The project’s first phase, completed in summer 2023, narrowed the road and created an ADA-compliant walkway on the east side of Division between Highway 2 and Superior Street. Phase two, expected to take place this summer, will continue the progress northward. 

Council President Deb Ruehle said she wanted to see the project’s third phase improve infrastructure at the north end of the corridor near Farmin Stidwell Elementary.

Lake Pend Oreille School District facilities director Matt Diel voiced support for the agreement and encouraged Sandpoint staff to ensure winter maintenance is performed to protect students traveling to school. 

“Even with the best infrastructure, we still need to be plowing properly and enforcing shoveling on the sidewalks to keep things safe,” he said. 

In a public memo, Ellis stated that Sandpoint will host an open house for the project in March and that a request to solicit bids for phase two construction will come before councilors this spring. 

The full Division Avenue Corridor Project is estimated to cost more than $10 million.