Pathway planned
Safety, drainage, trail maintenance and landscape integrity were some of the concerns voiced Wednesday by residents during an informal open house at Ponderosa Elementary.
The city of Spokane Valley is proposing a community pathway on 44th Avenue from Woodruff to Sands roads. Staff and City Council members presented conceptual layouts and fielded questions.
About 40 residents showed up, some with concerns and opposition.
“I would be a proponent if it went someplace,” resident Jacque Plante said. “There is no destination on either side.”
The pathway would eventually connect to a required pathway for a controversial proposed Ponderosa subdivision west of Woodruff.
The proposed trail would be a 10-foot-wide asphalt path and more than a mile long on the north side of 44th. The current plan features the path meandering through the trees and terrain similar to the paths in Liberty Lake.
“It won’t be a rigid linear pathway that parallels the road,” said Steve Stamatoplos, city engineering technician. “Our goal is to save as many of the trees as possible.”
“It would be a real shame to ruin the integrity of the way it flows now,” Linda Bosse, longtime Ponderosa resident said. “I don’t believe it will have the same rural feel.”
“We are in desperate need for an entrance and exit in the Ponderosa area,” said Gail Stiltner, a Ponderosa resident since 1974. “We should be focusing on that which is a real safety issue for us up here rather than the pathway.”
Stiltner, along with other residents, also questions the rationale behind the pathway along 44th. In their opinion, Schafer road is the heavier pedestrian traffic area.
“We really need a pathway for safety concerns coming down from the school to Schafer,” Stiltner said. “There is no where for the kids to safely walk.”
The Public Works Department identified 44th Avenue as having some configuration issues along the roadway to hinder safety for pedestrians. The safety issues matched the criteria for a grant offered by the Federal Highways Association through the Transportation Equity Act in 2005.
The city received a $16,500 grant in 2006 to cover the design phase of the project. Before drawing preliminary conceptual plans, the city hired David Evans and Associates to do a topographical and right-of-way survey. The city received its survey findings in January.
“The big concern is proximity of pedestrians to vehicle traffic,” Stamatoplos said. “Schafer has an established wide shoulder on both sides of the road that can be used right now. Fourty-fourth has it in places but in other places there is literally no shoulder on the road.”
Residents also voiced concern of having the pathway cross at the corner of 44th and Schafer, a three-way stop.
“They need to fix 44th and Schafer with a light or something visual,” said Diane Gross, who lives on the east corner of 44th and Schafer. “I’ve seen a number of people run it. They don’t even stop, and that’s not safe for the kids walking.”
Permanent warning signs and striping at each intersection is planned and possible at every driveway where line of sight is an issue.
“Our intent is not to create a situation where it’s unsafe for kids,” said Steve Worley, city senior engineer. “We want to create a situation that’s safe. If there was any indication that this was going to create a dangerous situation, we wouldn’t do it.”
Some 44th Avenue residents report flooding as already an issue for their yards and driveway and are concerned with how the city will alleviate the water when the pathway goes over some drain fields.
“We do recognize that is an issue here and we need to figure out how we can accommodate that,” Worley said.
The property owners who live along 44th Avenue asked for clear guidelines as to who is responsible for snow removal, and general upkeep of the pathway.
“It is not our intent on this project to make it the homeowner’s responsibility.” Worley said.
“There is no regulation at this point in time that says anyone is responsible,” Stamatoplos said. “We have a need to have a policy citywide and the council has begun to look at that situation. They saw it (this pathway) for the first time in an informational briefing during last night’s city council meeting.”
The next step is design. Armed with concerns from the neighborhood, a final design should be completed to meet the early May deadline for the Federal Highways Administration grant to cover the construction phase.
The estimated construction value is $222,500. If the city can’t secure federal funding, it will need to look for alternate funding sources.
“What funds we receive will shape what the final project is going to look like,” Stamatoplos said.
After funding, the project goes out to bid with an estimated completion date of summer 2008.
“If there was a huge opinion in the Ponderosa neighborhood that said they don’t want it,” Worley said. “Then we’re not going to force it on anybody.”