Council to focus on city sidewalks
SANDPOINT — Safe, pedestrian-friendly sidewalks will be the theme of the City Council meeting Wednesday.
A disconnected, ill-maintained and cracking network of sidewalks has been a topic of council concern for several years. Next council meeting, members will examine a plan crafted by the Pedestrian and Bicycle Advisory Committee that proposes a plan for pursuing sidewalk improvement.
The committee’s proposal advocates a multi-pronged approach to addressing those problems. Temporary obstacles to sidewalk passage can be solved easily enough, the plan suggests, through a combination of educational outreach using police and a possible summer intern to inform residents of sidewalk obstructions on their property.
As for sidewalk connectivity and condition issues, the committee is also proposing the adoption of an ordinance that would require sidewalk installation and repair with a property sale. In addition, the continued enforcement of a streetscape ordinance requires repair or construction of sidewalks with the issuance of any major building permit.
Finally, the committee proposes one last ordinance calling for crosswalks at the intersection of Pine Street and Highway 2.
The theme of safe walkways will continue — albeit somewhat tangentially — when council members investigate a request by Bonner General Hospital regarding a planned pedestrian sky bridge. Initially proposed to the city in March, the sky bridge will span the main hospital facility and the planned 40,000 square foot expansion to be built upon the former Taylor and Sons car lot on Cedar Street. Hospital officials say this aerial bridge will allow safe and quick transit by hospital employees and patients between the two buildings, protecting them from the weather and street intersection crossings.
The initial request in March landed in some ambiguous territory due to the general lack of a need for aerial use agreements in the past. However, city staff have used the months to draft an agreement for the proposed project that council members will evaluate Wednesday.
Other issues on the agenda include bid award for the reconstruction of Third and Fourth avenues from Church Street to Pine Street and an examination of a proposed trap-neuter-release program for feral cats. Council members will also re-examine agreements with the county over ambulance use, amend a section of the professional firefighter collective bargaining agreement regarding wages and consider calling for environmental studies of local impact from the proposed Longview Coal Terminal.