[Vision2020] Residents push for bridge on 3rd Street

[Tom Hansen]

"A responsibility ignored is an action completed."
- Moscow City Council mission statement

Courtesy of today's (November 22, 2016) Moscow-Pullman Daily News.

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Residents push for bridge on 3rd Street
Moscow council tables talk of pedestrian/bicycle span until mid-2017
Moscow residents have shared their support of a pedestrian/bicycle bridge over Paradise Creek on East Third Street at City Council meetings for many months — years even — and the item reached the agenda again Monday night.

While most or all of the audience members favored constructing a non-vehicular bridge, City Council members voted to table discussion of such a span until possibly next summer.

Councilman Jim Boland moved to direct staff to research cost alternatives to construct a pedestrian/bicycle bridge and have staff report its findings by the end of January 2017, but — though some of the audience applauded — no councilors seconded it.

City Supervisor Gary Riedner said the end of January would be “extremely aggressive.” He said the city would have to remove staff from grants the city has to bid in the spring and redirect their time to researching details of a pedestrian/bicycle bridge.

Before residents commented, Boland asked the audience members to stand — first in favor of a non-vehicular bridge and then those opposed to it. About 20 people stood in support of it and nobody stood in opposition.

“This could be an exciting amenity to Moscow,” said Nels Reese, a Moscow resident. “Could be something unique and intriguing to do and we would work with you and try to support as much as we possibly we can.”

Reese said he represents Citizens for a Livable Community, a group of Moscow volunteers who try to keep the city storied and historic, and said the group has more than 300 petitioners in town that support construction of a pedestrian/bicycle bridge, and it will have 500 soon.

“A lot of high school students cross the creek by climbing down and then climbing up and carrying their bicycles over their head,” said Joann Muneta, a Moscow resident.

She said teachers at Moscow High School told her they think the school’s environmental club, which has at least 30 members, would be interested in working on the project.

“I think if the city shows the leadership that the community will come together and the young people will come together and that will make it even more of an exciting project and a unique project for Moscow,” she said.

Ben Calabretta, chair of the Moscow Transportation Commission, said the commission supports a vehicular bridge but that if a vehicular bridge cannot be built within the next eight years, then the commission would want a pedestrian/bicycle bridge built.

The city learned in August that the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery grant it applied for, which would help pay for construction of a vehicular bridge on East Third Street, was not granted.

“The discussion of a bicycle/pedestrian bridge on Third Street right-of-way across Paradise Creek has been milling around among the City Council since about 2005,” Riedner said.

He said there are a number of pedestrian/bicycle bridges in Pullman so Moscow requested the city’s designs for such bridges. Riedner said the city received Pullman’s designs Friday.

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"Third Street Bridge" (Moscow City Council Session - November 21, 2016)
http://www.MoscowCares.com/112116_10_ThirdStreetPedBridge.htm

Seeya 'round town, Moscow, because . . .

"Moscow Cares" (the most fun you can have with your pants on)
http://www.MoscowCares.com
  
Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho
  
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