Paving a road-friendly city

The stripe designating a bike lane on Third Street in Coeur d’Alene appeared without fanfare a few weeks ago, but cyclists flocked to it like birds to the sky.

“That was a direct response to a request from our committee,” Vern Newby says proudly. “The city street department is very accommodating.”

Newby, a Coeur d’Alene School District trustee, sits on Coeur d’Alene’s Pedestrian and Bicycle Advisory Committee, a fledgling group that already has raised the safety level in the city for walkers, cyclists and people in wheelchairs.

Thanks to the committee, the repaving of Third Street included a bike lane; 15th Street south of Best Avenue has paved shoulders; Atlas Road has a mile-long bike path that’s 10 feet wide; and the state Department of Transportation is considering a proposal to improve conditions for pedestrians along 15th Street near ramps to and from I-90.

“We’re starting to get our feet under us,” says Mike Gridley, Coeur d’Alene’s city attorney, a cyclist and the committee’s coordinator. “The streets aren’t entirely screwed up here, so we have so many opportunities and a lot of people are enthusiastic about helping.”

The committee’s presence alone has taught Coeur d’Alene’s road planners and builders to think differently. Jon Ingalls, city street superintendent, says the committee has pointed out problems in the streets that don’t seem problems to someone in a car.

“A good example are the storm drain covers. Vern pointed out that they run longitudinally to the street. A skinny bike tire can go down into the drain cover and cause an accident,” Ingalls says. “Until you ride a bike or walk a street, you don’t see those things.”

The committee began early this year with a goal of transforming Coeur d’Alene into a cyclist- and pedestrian-friendly community. The Iron Man triathlon race in June was a good motivator.

“There are a lot of out-of-town guests here for that,” Newby says. “We want them to see that this community is easy to get around. Then they’ll come back.”

Newby was invited to join the committee as a cyclist. He bikes about 1,500 miles a year with his family and friends, to work occasionally and as his preferred transportation when weather and his schedule permit.

Newby joined a walker, runner, student, senior, engineer, school principal, city councilwoman and Centennial Trail Foundation member.

“I just like making things better,” he says. “It’s great to improve on things that help other people.”

He immediately pointed out hazards such as the storm grates, paved shoulders that turn abruptly to dirt, cracked sidewalks overgrown with weeds and unsafe walkways for kids heading to school.

Some of the problems were easily fixed and inexpensive. Ingalls’ crew fixed the storm grates and added the bike lane to Atlas Road.

For bigger jobs, Ingalls found help from the community labor program at the Kootenai County Jail.

“A whole host of people solve the problems,” Ingalls says. “They helped with the sidewalks and weed problems.”

More expensive projects called for cooperative efforts. Fifteenth Street needed paving and the committee has no budget this year. The City Council has agreed to consider a budget for next year.

The city parks department had money set aside for trail maintenance and bikeway development. The street department had money saved for shoulder work and paving.

The departments cooperated and now the dirt shoulders on 15th are newly paved. Ingalls says a bike lane is a strong possibility next year, but the project needs City Council approval.

After the committee saw success picking off small jobs – Gridley calls them low-hanging fruit – it settled into problem-identifying mode.

“One of the big things we’ve identified: There isn’t a single crosswalk from Riverstone to downtown,” Gridley says. “People who live on the east side of the street want to walk to North Idaho College, the beach, but they’re taking their lives in their own hands. That’s a priority we’re looking at.”

The problem list includes cars parked across sidewalks and bike trails; puddles that steer pedestrians into car traffic; cyclists who ride too fast among walkers; bike lanes planned for busy streets instead of quieter thoroughfares; sidewalks with no curb cuts for wheelchairs; signal light poles that block wheelchairs on sidewalks; and busy streets with no crosswalks for children to use on their way to school.

The committee has taken the lead on a national program, Safe Routes to Schools. It’s establishing where sidewalks and curb cuts are needed and where bikes paths could connect neighborhoods.

“One of the shining lights is the (Coeur d’Alene) school district,” Newby says. “The maintenance department has ground off the bumps on sidewalks for wheelchairs.”

The committee also has convinced the Idaho Department of Transportation to consider $60,000 worth of improvements on 15th Street near I-90 – sidewalks, bike lane stripes, weed cleanup and a less complicated intersection.

“We’ve done a real good job on inventory,” Gridley says. “Now we want to accomplish more with education in the schools and community. Making the city human-powered friendly is exciting, and we have a lot of people willing to help.”