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Supervisors decline courthouse–Public Health crosswalk after safety and use concerns
Summary
The board voted to not proceed with a proposed pedestrian crosswalk between the courthouse and the Public Health building after staff described placement constraints, an estimated $2,000 engineering fee and questions about likely pedestrian use, parking loss and blind spots from parked cars.
Council Bluffs, Iowa — The Pottawattamie County Board of Supervisors voted to defer the installation of a proposed pedestrian crosswalk between the county courthouse and the Public Health building after staff presented placement options and an engineering estimate.
Jason Slack, director of buildings and grounds, presented the proposed locations and said the county had an engineering quote for plan submission (an engineering fee of $2,000 from Snyder and Associates); he said installation costs were not yet available. Slack said a straight crosswalk where most people cross would conflict with a courthouse driveway and that the nearest feasible placement would require moving the crossing slightly away from the natural desire lines of pedestrians.
Supervisors and staff discussed likely usage patterns, the potential loss of parking stalls on the street, sight‑line blind spots caused by cars parked at meters and whether signage would be allowed by the city. Board members said the proposed location might not be used by pedestrians and that creating a crosswalk where users would not utilize it could reduce value. After discussion a motion was made and seconded “not to move forward with the crosswalk at this time,” and the board approved the motion by voice vote.
Slack said he had asked about signage and that a city contact, Matt Cox, had been involved in prior conversations about standards, though the transcript records the point as an item for further coordination. The engineering fee of $2,000 was described as a cost for preparing plans for submittal; final installation and striping costs were not specified in the meeting record.
The board instructed staff to provide additional data if the crosswalk is reconsidered in the future, including clearer cost estimates and usage projections.
