Advisory committee moves to treat updated pedestrian‑priority map as working draft for MTMP

A working group presented an updated pedestrian‑priority street map Nov. 15 and the Sandpoint Pedestrian and Bicycle Advisory Committee voted to treat that categorization as a working draft to be refined for inclusion in the city’s multimodal transportation master plan (MTMP).

Members said the map — an update to work begun roughly 20 years ago — classifies streets as high, medium and low priority for pedestrian improvements and is intended to guide capital budgeting, developer expectations and eligible uses of in‑lieu fees. Committee members stressed the importance of translating the map into near‑term capital priorities (a 5‑year CIP) so that high‑priority corridors receive funding rather than sitting in plan documents.

Discussion focused on the criteria used to set priority levels, how the map would interact with the city’s capital improvement program, and whether staff should turn the dataset into an amendment that could be embedded in the MTMP. Committee members suggested additional refinements: color‑coding by priority, establishing clearer definitions for high/medium/low priority (for example, safe routes to school), and limiting sidewalk requirements on low‑priority streets while capturing in‑lieu fees for nearby improvements.

The chair asked for next steps and the committee moved to adopt the draft categorization as a working draft to be refined. Staff was asked to review the map’s form and content and to return an amended draft that could be used in the MTMP update process. Members said they preferred incremental approvals rather than one overwhelming packet so the work can be used in CIP and development decisions as it is refined.

The motion was moved and seconded during the meeting; no roll‑call tally was recorded on the transcript and staff will return a refined draft for further committee review.