City staff outlines sidewalk master plan, seeks parks commission participation

Lisa Key, a city staff member, told the Liberty Lake Parks and Arts Commission that the city is preparing a sidewalk master plan and will present conceptual options to city council on Oct. 21. The plan will assess sidewalk condition, explore funding mechanisms and define roles for the city and property owners, with SCJ Alliance as the on-call planning consultant supporting the work.

Key said staff aims to form a steering committee that would include the Bike/Ped Safety Subcommittee, representatives from schools (PTOs), the business community and other stakeholders. She recommended beginning with a kickoff meeting before Thanksgiving or in early December, with the bulk of the committee work occurring in January and February.

Key described the immediate tasks as: reviewing the sidewalk conditions report already collected, determining prioritization criteria (for example, routes to schools and commercial areas), and identifying potential funding options. She said SCJ Alliance will prepare engagement materials and the Community Engagement Commission will assist in carrying out community outreach.

Commissioners asked about time commitments and agreed to identify members for a steering group at the commission's November meeting. Commissioners were asked to send any suggested participants to staff so representatives could be confirmed before the kickoff.

Ending: Staff will present the sidewalk concepts to city council Oct. 21 and expects to return to the Parks and Arts Commission in November to confirm members for the steering committee and to finalize the kickoff schedule.