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 |
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.