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Sandpoint 'Wheels' working group to refine priorities for bike, scooter and e‑bike routes
Summary
The committee—s new 'wheels' working group reported initial priorities: test whether the pedestrian priority network fits wheeled users, assess the city—s bike priority network, and identify gaps such as Long Bridge access and Great Northern Road; the group will coordinate with staff and return with recommendations.
Sandpoint — Committee members reported early work for a new 'wheels' working group on March 12, aimed at clarifying which streets should be prioritized for bikes, scooters and other wheeled users and how those priorities should differ from pedestrian priorities.
Members said the group found the existing pedestrian priority network does not map neatly onto wheeled travel and proposed three near‑term tasks: (1) coordinate with Public Works to understand current and planned projects so committee efforts complement city plans, (2) review local bike maps and compare them to the city's bike priority network, and (3) clarify how impact fees and development‑related funding can be used for bikeway projects.
Committee members highlighted particular corridors of concern. Great Northern Road is identified in city planning documents as a future multi‑use corridor but presently lacks signage and on‑street accommodations; Long Bridge access to City Beach was repeatedly cited as a high priority for improved connections. Members discussed short‑term, low‑cost interventions (signage, sharrows, bike racks) and the need to recommend projects council should prioritize for impact fee funding.
The group also discussed how to categorize 'wheels' — by speed, user type or travel purpose — and proposed developing an evaluation matrix to score candidate routes for safety, connectivity and equity. Staff and council liaison Kyle Shriber encouraged the group to identify a small set of candidate projects for council consideration and noted council can adjust impact fee priorities if the committee brings a vetted recommendation.
Next steps: the wheels group will meet again, finalize their priorities and bring targeted questions to Public Works; they plan to present a set of recommendations to the full committee and then to council for potential inclusion in capital/impact fee plans.
