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Commission debates sidewalk, alley and street repairs; roundabout at McFarland draws public opposition
Summary
Residents urged the commission to redirect planned spending for a roundabout and park-side sidewalk work toward failing roads, and commissioners asked staff for a revised, prioritized plan for 2025 street and sidewalk projects.
Samantha Noriega and other residents urged the commission to reprioritize planned capital spending, arguing a proposed roundabout at Eisenhower and McFarland and a sidewalk loop near Fifth Street were lower priorities than deteriorating arterials and residential streets.
"That roundabout, it doesn't matter about KDOT and the grant...We still already paid for it," Noriega said during public comment, urging the city to direct funds to Grand Avenue and other roads she described as in "crisis" and to update traffic studies that date from 2017.
Commissioner comments showed division over prioritization. Commissioner Piner (spoke in the meeting as Commissioner Panier/Piner) said he circulated a memo listing 46 locations he considered priorities and asked the commission to be more active in setting front-end priorities instead of accepting staff proposals by default.
City staff presented the 2025 sidewalk and alley-repair bid package and explained the sanitation-department transfer that funded the work. Staff said the sidewalk/alley package plus proposed additional street projects would bring 2025 street-related spending toward $1.7 million if approved. Specific projects discussed included a Fifth Street sidewalk park loop, Webster by Dylan's (drainage concerns), and alley repairs behind the Opera House.
Separately, staff proposed adding two streets to the 2025 street-maintenance program: James Smothers from Eleventh to Twelfth Street and Westwood Boulevard from Custer Road to Seventeenth Street. Staff said fully resurfacing Westwood Boulevard could cost roughly $1.3 million; the proposed addition would put the street fund over budget by approximately $205,168.
Commissioners and staff agreed more detailed cost scenarios and priority alignment were needed. One commissioner asked to table the sidewalk/park-loop item and asked staff to return with a revised plan showing alternative allocations, including shifting funds to additional blocks of Westwood Boulevard or to other high-need streets.
The commission did not approve the proposed additions at this meeting; staff were directed to return with a more detailed plan and worst-case cost scenarios and to consider options such as completing one side of Westwood Boulevard or reallocating funds from park projects to streets.
Ending: Commissioners asked staff to return with reviewed options and prioritized lists to guide spending; item 5a (sidewalk/park loop) and the proposed additions to the 2025 street program were not approved at the meeting and were to be revisited.
