City previewing 2025 capital projects; proposal to add bicycle transportation coordinator advanced

City engineering staff on Feb. 24 presented a preview of the 2025 capital improvement program to the Connected City Advisory Board, highlighting corridor work on Tennessee and Kentucky streets, a large Maple Lane reconstruction project and plans for Iowa Street and Bob Billings Parkway, and noting a separate proposal to add a bicycle transportation coordinator to city staff.

The construction preview matters because it ties multiple projects together — fiber and drainage work, pavement reconstruction, shared-use paths and ADA ramps — and will affect traffic, sidewalks and bus stops across the city over the next two years. Staff said publishing project pages and a brochure will let residents locate plans and sign up for updates.

David, a city engineering staff member who led the presentation, said the department is emphasizing synergy when scheduling repairs and improvements. "Our engineering group has a lot going on these projects," he said, adding that project pages with barcodes and links will be posted and updated as contractors start work. He described several large items expected to begin or continue this year: the Maple Lane reconstruction (storm sewer, sanitary sewer, pavement and sidewalk gaps, with multiple phases continuing into summer 2026); Iowa Street reconstruction between 23rd Street and Irving Hill Road, including pavement replacement and shared-use path extensions; and a major Bob Billings rehabilitation to replace pavement and sidewalks that is expected to carry into 2026.

A separate presenter outlined a nonprofit-led CIP submission that included three project proposals and a fourth item described as a staffing request: creation of a bicycle transportation coordinator position. The proposer said the role is intended to move beyond planning documents to implementation and interdepartmental coordination, and pointed to Portland’s early adoption of a bicycle coordinator as a model.

Staff also described several multimodal and grant-funded projects scheduled for design or construction in 2025: a CDBG-funded project for Tennessee between Ninth and Fourteenth streets to add sidewalks and ramps; a Sixth Street shared-use path; a Safe Routes to School project on Ausdale (sidewalk gaps near 19th and 26th streets); and multiple ADA sidewalk/ramp projects tied to the city’s ADA transition plan. Staff said some projects will use Transportation Alternatives (TA) or CDBG grants and that design work for others is under way.

Questions from board members and residents touched on coordination with transit and bus shelters at stops on 19th Street near Maple and Harper, drainage fixes tied to shared-use path repairs south of 19th, and how projects that began as sewer or pavement work were being adjusted to add sidewalks and multimodal elements. David said the city is coordinating with transit on needed shelters and will follow up with specific plans for bus-stop shelters and locations.

Staff repeatedly emphasized that some federal or state grant funding has been awarded but not always encumbered; they said state agencies typically administer federal funds and that final implementation and reimbursements can depend on state processes and federal budgets. For projects that have design work planned in 2025 but construction in 2026, staff said design agreements and reimbursement rules will guide near-term work.

Ending: Staff encouraged the board and the public to use the project pages and the printed brochure — which will be distributed in utility bills and to business groups — to follow timing and sign up for updates. Staff said phased construction will create rolling traffic impacts and that the city will post schedule updates as contractors mobilize.