Highway 41 trail project goes to the public

POST FALLS - Three years in the works, the public will get its chance to weigh in on the controversial Highway 41 trail project on Tuesday night.

The Post Falls City Council will hold a public hearing at 6 on whether the East Post Falls Urban Renewal District should be amended to include a paved trail from Seltice Way to Mullan Avenue on the east side of Highway 41 and under the Interstate 90 overpass.

The council is then expected to make a decision whether to proceed with the trail project or not using urban renewal funds.

The estimated cost for the quarter-mile stretch is more than $600,000 due to the relocation of utilities and construction under the freeway.

While the cost has been a concern of some decisionmakers, bike and pedestrian safety needed in the corridor has been among the reasons to support the project. A small dirt single-lane trail resembling a cow path is all that exists now and traffic is only expected to increase as the Highway 41 corridor and southeast side of the city is further developed.

Another concern has been using city urban renewal funds to pay for a project that's in the Idaho Transportation Department right of way, but ITD officials say their agency doesn't fund trail improvements and its focus is on roads.

"It will be interesting to see what unfolds as there have been many opinions on the project both in the community and with the elected officials," said Eric Keck, city administrator.

The City Council and Urban Renewal Agency have a signed memorandum of understanding on the project and $75,000 in engineering costs with urban renewal funds have already been spent.

The cost and the specific trail project not being in the urban renewal plan were among the factors that stalled the project. The plan calls for transportation improvements in general, but doesn't specifically include the trail project.