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DDA board to delay downtown lane-change pilot as grant timeline, city coordination remain unresolved
Summary
The downtown development board acknowledged a delay to a planned street-layout pilot after the grant administrator lacked application materials and members said the city and police must be coordinated; the board authorized staff to continue planning work but set spring 2025 as a tentative target.
The downtown development board agreed to delay a planned street-layout (“road diet”) pilot and push related contract work to spring 2025 while staff gathers data and the city finalizes grant and coordination details. Board members said the grant administrator has not yet released application materials and the pilot cannot move forward without clearer city buy-in and police coordination.
Board members said the downtown master plan — scheduled for City Council notice on Oct. 1 — sets the policy context, but converting a master-plan goal into on-street changes requires interagency coordination. One member said the police chief welcomed returning the proposal for traffic review and that the pilot should be used to gather information, including traffic-diversion impacts, before a formal council decision.
Members voiced concern about pursuing pilot work prematurely. Several speakers warned that applying for or accepting grant funds without conceptual buy-in from council could leave staff and volunteers with sunk time if the council ultimately objects. The board agreed it had previously approved a contract with a consultant (referred to in the transcript as “G”) but has not yet spent construction funds and could postpone firm implementation dates pending the grantor’s processes.
On scheduling, the board discussed weather and operations constraints and set spring 2025 as the target pilot window, with the caveat that city services must be available to support any lane modifications. The group asked staff and the contracted consultant to continue developing concepts and data so that, if the council and city administration provide support, a pilot could be scheduled with adequate public notification and traffic management plans.
The board did not adopt a specific ordinance or a construction schedule at the meeting. Members framed the action as an acknowledgement to the board that timeline and sequencing would shift rather than as final approval of implementation.
