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City official urges moving forward on Bridal/Highland federal-county project to preserve grants and improve school crosswalk safety
Summary
Public works director presented 30% design for the Bridal/Highland intersection and multiuse trail, noting two federal-aid grants, a county contribution of about $1.1M and a city share near 6.77% (roughly $300K); council discussed pedestrian safety, the removal of a vehicle slip lane, and timing to preserve grant funding.
Matt Shipp, Cottonwood Heights public works director, told the council the Bangle/Bridal–Highland intersection and trail project is at 30% design and is supported by two federal-aid grants plus roughly $1.1 million in county funds for the county portion of the work. He said the city’s share was budgeted and estimated at approximately 6.77% of the total—about $300,000—and staff has requested an extension to complete the county portion through December 2028.
Shipp described the scope as including intersection improvements, a 10-foot north-side separated multiuse pedestrian/bicycle trail and a safer high-school crosswalk. He acknowledged the proposed layout modifies or removes a vehicle slip/right-turn lane at Highland and Bridal, a change that concerned the Brighton High community council and some parents because of drop-off patterns and peak-hour queues. "There is a turning way...there is a dedicated turn," Shipp said, adding the design adds queue stacking, signal timing adjustments and separation that he argued will improve overall pedestrian and bicycle safety.
Council members and community representatives pushed for additional outreach to the Brighton High community council to explain how the dedicated turn lane and signal timing would work. Several members noted the trade-offs between safety and short peak-time delays and encouraged staff to refine crossing timing and explore placement of crossing guards or other local measures to reduce parent impatience at peak hours.
Shipp warned that waiting further risks inflation-driven cost increases and potential loss or reassignment of grant funds, so he urged the council to authorize moving forward with the federal-aid agreement signatures and the county-design agreement so procurement and design work can proceed.
What happens next: Staff will proceed with the federal-aid agreement signatures and work with the state and feds to finalize procurement; council members asked staff to meet again with neighborhood and school stakeholders as design advances from 30% toward final plans.
