Second access point to City Beach area needed

One has to wonder if the Sandpoint City Planning Department's evaluation of the proposal to permit the construction of a new 180-room deluxe hotel/motel at the site of the current Best Western Motel down at City Beach understands that this site is only accessible via Bridge Street.

Bridge Street crosses the Sand Creek Bridge and then goes under U.S. 95 and BNSF Railroad bridges before accessing the existing motel and condos. The railroad currently has about 50 trains a day on this route and each train is 100 cars long with an occasional 200-car train.

U.S. 95 is a busy border-to-border highway with a mix of local and interstate commercial and tourist traffic.

Although the probability of a major train derailment or vehicular accident occurring at this crossing or that the derailment or vehicular accident would result in blocking the Bridge Street underpasses is low, it should be considered in the planners' deliberations before this project is permitted to forward. A major blockage of the only access to City Beach, the existing motel, and the 40-plus existing condominiums would be a disaster. Adding the proposed 180-room motel to the existing development along City Beach would only compound the disaster.

Now is the time to develop a plan for the second access to this prime recreation area before permitting the traffic growth that would accompany the proposed 180-room motel, not after a major disaster.

RICHARD CREED

Sandpoint