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Can you hear me? New face at ITD will help! |
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December 29, 2017 |
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By Mike Weland
About 70 people attended an Idaho Transportation
Department open house in Bonners Ferry December
14 on the Downtown Bonners Ferry Highway
Project, and many who attended walked away with
the impression that it was an exercise in
formality, that all the decisions had been made.
"It looks like people need to contact the mayor
and tell them to listen to the general public as
well as contact Shawn (Keough) and the other
elected officials," one wrote in an email. "I
saw on the Rant & Rave group lots of comments
back and forth about the meeting, and most if
not all of them are not in favor of this project
as it stands. There was one post asking if a
petition or something could help to stop or slow
it down until a better consensus is reached but
most feel that we are shafted, and then when
they have to expand the road again due to other
issues, like more traffic, then they (ITD) will
blame the local people that this was what we
wanted."
There was a new face wearing an ITD name tag at
that hearing, one that bodes well not only for
ITD, but for everyone in Idaho's District 1 who
takes part in the ITD planning process,
especially those who share the same frustrations.
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| ITD District
1-2 Public Information Specialist Megan
Sausser |
Three years ago, ITD District 1-2 Public
Information Specialist Barbara Babbitt retired,
and the decision was made to leave the post
vacant.
Earlier this year, thanks in large part
to public outcry similar in tone to that above,
ITD decided to reinstate the position, and they
found Megan Sausser, who grew up in Post Falls
and studied public relations at the University
of Idaho, graduating with honors in May.
She was
hired as ITD District 1-2 Public Information
Specialist in November to help the studious and
brainy ITD engineers and designers better hear
and understand the
disparate and often raucous voices of John and
Jane Q. Public, to help them better communicate with each
other.
She is already working hard to reverse the
seeming disconnect that has grown between ITD
leaders and the public they serve.
"To continue to involve the public in Bonners
Ferry, I will work with ITD engineers to update
the project
website as construction comes closer," she
said. "ITD will soon offer the ability for those
who provide an email to receive notifications
when ITD updates the website. Project updates
will also be shared with local news media and
through ITD’s social media accounts and
website."
While there are no more public hearings
currently on the schedule, the impression, Megan
said, that ITD doesn't want to hear public
concerns is simply untrue. Written comment can
be sent at any time to project manager Ben Ward,
ITD, W600 Prairie Ave., Coeur d'Alene, ID 83815,
or by email,
ben.ward@itd.idaho.gov, or to Megan Sausser,
same postal address, email
megan.sausser@itd.idaho.gov.
She has also immersed herself in the history of
the project, in particular the public's
participation to date. She wrote it out in
simplified form:
"The project to improve US-95 through Bonners
Ferry began as a $3 million safety and pavement
preservation project in 2014 and grew to the
$9.4 million project it is today. ITD originally
only had funding to improve US-95 from Alderson
Lane to Madison Street. The initial project
included repaving the highway with one lane in
each direction separated by a center turn lane.
ITD proposed a sidewalk on one side to extend
the design already in place from Walker Lane to
Alderson Lane.
"ITD presented this design as one of the
alternatives at the first public meeting in
February, 2015. ITD also provided another
alternative featuring wider shoulders, grassy
buffer areas and sidewalks on both sides of the
highway. Of the 122 people at the meeting, 44
left comments. Comments received at the meeting
favored the second alternative, which was safer
and more practical for a city with businesses on
both sides of the highway. ITD also received
comments at this meeting that the pavement on
the South Hill was deteriorating and in need of
repairs, but at that time ITD did not have any
funding to repair the hill.
"As the project developed, it became clear that
the new design would significantly impact local
businesses when acquiring the new right of way.
ITD held a public hearing in August, 2015, which
was attended by 36 people; 21 people left
comments. At this hearing, there were more
comments about the need to address the South
Hill. Early comments from both of the meetings,
as well as meetings with city officials,
supported the addition of sidewalks, grassy
buffer areas and highway lighting to promote
pedestrian safety.
"In 2016, money became available for safety
projects in the vicinity of the US-Canada
border, allowing ITD to look for ways to improve
the South Hill, with a special emphasis on
distancing the merging point at the top of the
hill from the crosswalk to the city pool near
Madison Street. After hearing concerns about
vehicles being forced to stop on the hill for
pedestrians in the crosswalk, ITD adjusted its
crosswalk design so that it only alerts traffic
one lane at a time while pedestrians are
crossing.
"Throughout the design process, ITD considered
the removal of the signal at Alderson Lane. The
signal was old and would have to be replaced,
prompting ITD to investigate if $310,000 of
taxpayer money should be spent on a new signal.
In 2017, ITD conducted traffic counts in
February, August and November. Engineering
analyses based on these counts showed that even
during its peak use, the signal was not
justified by the low volume of users.
"In order to collect public comment on the
removal of the signal at Alderson Lane, ITD
created a website for the project that contained
details and graphics of the proposed changes so
that members of the public could view and
comment at his or her convenience. During the
two weeks that site visitors were allowed to
comment, there were 1,100 views and 133
comments. After analyzing the comments, ITD
engineers realized that there was still some
confusion about the details of the project. ITD
engineers developed a response to common
concerns, posted it to the website and began
planning an open house to explain the upcoming
changes.
"Nearly 70 people attended the open house last
week."
On Friday, December 15, district engineer Damon
Allen met with Mayor David Sims, Senator Shawn
Keough, Representative Sage Dixon and ITD Board
member Jim Coleman to discuss the project.
"Although there will not be any major changes to
the plans presented at the open house and on the
project website," Sausser wrote, "ITD will help analyze the need
for any future improvements or signals at major
crossings once the city completes its
transportation plan."
At different points throughout the project, ITD
worked with city officials and attended the
monthly meetings of the Boundary Economic
Development Council.
The public meeting and
hearing were advertised via local news sources
and owners of properties directly adjacent to
the project were notified of the public events
via mail. The project website has been updated
several times, and ITD will continue to use the
website to share information about the project
as construction nears. Soon ITD will also give
website visitors the opportunity to sign up for
email notifications when the website is updated.
Through the design process, the Boundary
Economic Development Council held 14 public
meetings to gather input on the project, and the
meetings were attended by an ITD planner and an
ITD engineer, the former mayor and current mayor
of Bonners Ferry and local news media. David
Sims, the current Bonners Ferry mayor, attended
the meetings as director of the council, and
former mayor Dave Anderson also attended. The
meetings were attended by the editor of the
Bonners Ferry Herald, who covered the meetings
in articles in the Herald.
The public meeting and hearing were advertised
via local news sources and owners of properties
directly adjacent to the project were notified
of the public events via mail. The project
website has been updated several times, and ITD
will continue to use the website to share
information about the project as construction
nears. Soon ITD will also give website visitors
the opportunity to sign up for email
notifications when the website is updated.
"ITD," Megan wrote, "will continue to work with
city officials to improve the safety, mobility
and economic opportunity of highway users in
Bonners Ferry."
And thanks to her involvement, everyone involved
will once again have a much better idea of what
every one else is saying. |
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