Sandpoint council coalesces on narrower lanes, mixed-use path and tree review for Cedar Street reconstruction

Sandpoint — At a special workshop on the Cedar Street reconstruction project, the Sandpoint City Council and staff narrowed preferred design parameters and instructed staff to develop a revised concept and cost estimate for public review.

The council, led by Mayor Jeremy Graham and public works staff, discussed multiple cross-section options for Cedar Street, a collector corridor with a 50-foot right of way. Staff described the city’s baseline guidance from the Urban Area Transportation Plan (UATP), which calls for a 60-foot right of way and 12-foot travel lanes on collectors, and explained that the project must balance multiple priorities within the narrower local right of way.

Why it matters: the project is budgeted for this fiscal year and is at the stage where design choices will affect bid documents, construction cost and timing. Councilors and staff discussed trade-offs among pedestrian access, bicycle facilities, tree preservation, stormwater treatment and winter maintenance; they also agreed that additional outreach and technical work (including arborist input) are needed before final design and bidding.

Most important decisions and directions

- Lane width: the council reached consensus on 10.5-foot curb-to-curb travel lanes (the body noted 12-foot lanes are the city standard but cited snowplow and safety trade-offs). Staff said narrower lanes provide traffic-calming benefits but flagged winter plowing and maintenance impacts as considerations.

- Sidewalks and bike facilities: councilors favored a 5-foot sidewalk on the north side of Cedar and a 10-foot shared-use (multiuse) path on the south side where feasible. Staff were directed to avoid removing existing recently installed sidewalks where possible and to design the south-side path so it can connect to existing and future pedestrian routes.

- Planter strips and stormwater: councilors supported enlarging planter strips where the right of way allows to preserve trees and to provide on-site stormwater treatment. Staff noted planter strips also help meet future NPDES stormwater permit standards that could apply as the community grows.

- Tree preservation: councilors asked staff to hire or consult with an arborist and to produce cost and feasibility estimates for saving a large silver maple and several nearby trees that residents and the Tree Committee flagged for protection. Staff estimated that specialized measures to preserve large roots or lift the road could cost tens of thousands of dollars and may still not guarantee the tree’s long-term survival.

- Public engagement and schedule: staff said the current design had already gone through prior engagement but that the council’s new direction represents meaningful changes. Staff recommended additional public outreach on any revised concept; doing so would add weeks to the schedule and likely push the project beyond the current fiscal-year construction window. Staff estimated another two to three months of design and outreach before a public presentation of a revised concept (likely in late spring), making a summer construction start unlikely.

Key discussion points and supporting details

Staff presentation and standards: Holly (project staff) walked the council through the proposed cross section elements — sidewalk, planter strip, two vehicular lanes and sharrows in the base concept — and explained why those elements were chosen under the city’s complete-streets guidance and UATP. She emphasized Cedar’s constrained 50-foot right of way and showed the blocks where recently built development already has 5-foot sidewalks and tree wells that staff would try to preserve.

Sharrows vs. separated facilities: councilors debated marked shared lanes ("sharrows") versus dedicated bike lanes or a multiuse path. Some councilors and staff noted that sharrows are common in parts of Sandpoint and allow cyclists to ride in the vehicle lane, while others said the research favors separate facilities when space and budget permit. Holly said Idaho law allows riding on sidewalks outside downtown, and noted that multiuse paths require additional ongoing maintenance and plowing resources.

Pedestrian clearance and ADA: staff reminded the council that Sandpoint standards seek a 6-foot sidewalk where possible, but city practice and ADA guidance set 5 feet as a common minimum for comfortable passing and 4 feet as an absolute minimum in constrained locations. Councilors cited a past ADA complaint and said the city must consider accessibility requirements when finalizing widths.

Snowplow and maintenance constraints: staff and councilors discussed snowplow blade widths and winter maintenance; councilors referenced studies and operational experience showing that snow and residual windrows reduce effective lane width in winter, which influenced the 10.5-foot compromise. Staff also flagged the maintenance risk where vehicles habitually drive up onto curb joints if lanes are too narrow.

Stormwater treatment and right-of-way trade-offs: staff said wider planter strips both enable tree growth and provide surface treatment for runoff before water enters the drainage system. They noted the city may need to meet NPDES stormwater requirements if population or permit thresholds apply; in some locations staff said planter strips could be fitted with filter media to meet future requirements.

Tree protection complexity and cost: staff showed the council the silver maple’s critical root zone (root protection radius roughly matching the tree’s drip line) and explained that reconstruction, trenching for water and sewer upgrades, and grading would intrude on that root zone. A staff estimate described tree-protection measures and specialist arborist monitoring as potentially costly: staff said a conservative minimum could exceed $10,000 and that saving the tree could require tens of thousands of dollars in mitigation and special construction sequencing; some options could still fail to prevent later decline.

Other planning items: staff and councilors discussed potential opportunities with Avista (utility) property for alternative stormwater routing, traffic calming measures such as lateral shifts or speed tables, and the desirability of consistent wayfinding and signage across town. Several councilors suggested presenting the revised concept to commissions (Tree Committee, Bike/Ped, Sustainability) before or during public outreach so those groups’ input is visible to the public.

No formal vote

Councilors did not take a formal, binding vote on a final design during the workshop. The body recorded a consensus for the geometry described above and directed staff to: (1) prepare a revised concept reflecting 10.5-foot lanes, a north 5-foot sidewalk, a south 10-foot shared-use path wherever feasible, and larger planter strips; (2) pursue an arborist review and provide a cost estimate and feasibility analysis for preserving the large silver maple and adjacent trees; and (3) return to council with a public-engagement plan and schedule. Staff cautioned that additional public outreach could delay the project beyond the current fiscal year and affect the timing of construction and contractor pricing.

What’s next

Staff will prepare a revised concept and cost estimate that incorporates the council’s directions and will present options and a public-engagement plan at a future council meeting. Councilors asked staff to identify the likely cost differential for tree-protection measures and for expanded paving or path options, and to flag dependencies such as water/sewer trenching and potential coordination with Avista. If the council directs a return to public engagement, staff said presentation of a revised concept would likely occur in spring and could push bidding into the next construction season.