LAKE STEVENS — City leaders have updated their priorities for sidewalk construction, including projects to circle the lake with walkways and connect growing neighborhoods to schools and shopping centers, including Frontier Village.
The City Council approved its original Pedestrian Connection Plan in 2011. Earlier this month, they reviewed a 2015 version that revises construction costs, ranks high priority projects and revisits progress made in the last four years.
The plan identifies gaps in the city’s network of sidewalks. Planners prioritize projects based on how many people live nearby, potential connections to other walkways, traffic and nearness to schools, parks, services or shopping.
They’ve selected 25 priority projects. The estimated cost to complete them all is $10.7 million. Timelines depend on money.
“It’s kind of a living document,” city administrator Jan Berg said. “It is prioritized, but as grant and other funding opportunities come through, the first priority might not be the first project done.”
The sidewalk plan is being used in other documents, including the city’s comprehensive plan, she said.
If every Lake Stevens street had a walkway alongside it, planners estimate the city would have 188 miles of sidewalks.
Of that, about six of every 10 miles currently has some kind of walkway, though not all are wide enough to meet city standards.
Since 2011, the city has finished one project on its original list and started three others, which are expected to end in 2015.
In 2013, the city built a sidewalk on 20th Street Northeast linking Pilchuck Elementary to the Centennial Trail. It was prioritized because it connects to a school, Berg said. The same is true for one of the three stretches scheduled to be finished in 2015. A Safe Routes to School grant is paying for the bulk of a project that traces 91st Avenue Southeast between Fourth and Eighth streets, connecting homes to Lake Stevens Middle School and Hillcrest and Skyline elementaries.
The city also intends to complete a sidewalk along North Davies Road linking the roundabouts at Frontier Village. In early December, that project was selected for a $310,000 state grant.
The third 2015 project is on South Lake Stevens Road from South Davies Road to the Machias Cut Off. It’s part of the city’s goal to eventually have a loop of pedestrian paths around the lake.
The remaining 25 proposals range from $81,000 for 150 feet of concrete sidewalk along Hartford Drive to $1.07 million for a 2,650-foot path along Lake View Drive between Callow Road and 112th Street Northeast.
City staff plan to study the need for wider sidewalks, ramps and other suggestions from the Americans with Disabilities Act.
“Sidewalks are a priority of the council,” Berg said. “We definitely would love any feedback.”
People can email suggestions for new sidewalks to Public Works director Mick Monken at mmonken@lakestevenswa.gov.
Kari Bray: 425-339-3439; kbray@heraldnet.com.
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