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City explains why east side route was preferred; landowners say west side would reduce property impacts
Summary
City staff and consultants said the east side of Dorset Street is the preferred alignment because the west side would require additional crosswalks on a higher‑speed roadway and could increase pedestrian risk; landowners and some councilors said moving the path west would avoid impacts to homes and utilities.
City staff cited the 2017 bicycle and pedestrian feasibility study and subsequent design work in explaining why the east side of Dorset Street is the preferred alignment for the shared‑use path. The study concluded that keeping the path on the east side provides the most direct connection to the existing network and avoids multiple crosswalks on a higher‑speed section of road.
Landowners argued the west side of the road would avoid taking front‑yard space and moving poles and claimed the city had not sufficiently re‑evaluated that option. Qualentoll said moving the alignment would require restarting studies and could add crosswalks and potential safety risks because vehicles in the area exceed posted speeds: she told the council that counts showed 85% of drivers were traveling at about 46 mph where the posted limit is 40 mph, which informed the safety recommendation to favor the east side.
