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Council reviews $500k design estimate for 15 West End traffic projects; congestion-pricing studies pulled for later
Summary
Staff presented a package of 15 West End pedestrian, bicycle and traffic analysis projects with design/analysis estimates of about $500,000; council agreed to remove two congestion-pricing items from the immediate work plan and pursue other prioritized items, with contracts to Jacobs and Alta proceeding in the interim.
Deputy City Engineer Haley O’Dell and transportation staff presented a set of 15 projects to address pedestrian safety, bicycle infrastructure and traffic-flow improvements in the West End. Staff summarized the package and said the design and analysis estimates total just over $500,000; construction and implementation costs would be additional.
“For this work, two contracts would be sought to complete the work, one with Jacobs Engineering and a second with Alta Engineering,” O’Dell said, and staff noted some projects are design/analysis only while implementation would require separate funding. “We have a summary of the three project categories and a final cost of just over $500,000,” staff told council.
Councilmembers debated whether to include two items focused on congestion pricing and cordoning (items 6 and 7). Councilmember Bill Sterling voiced skepticism about those studies’ immediate value, saying he was reluctant to spend money on congestion-pricing work targeted only to the West End. “I'm not sure I can get behind these ideas of congestion pricing and, cordoning, if I'm interpreting what cordoning is correctly,” Sterling said. Other council members warned that West-End-only congestion pricing could displace traffic into other neighborhoods and recommended a broader study if congestion pricing were to be considered.
Mayor Richards proposed removing items 6 and 7 from the current work plan and moving forward with the remainder of the package; several councilmembers agreed. Staff said they would proceed with the Jacobs and Alta contracts to begin analysis and bring supplemental funding requests back to council as necessary, and that some infrastructure projects could be completed next summer while larger analyses might take one to two years.
