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<H2><FONT face="Times New Roman,Times">Paradise Path extension project OK’d;
Moscow, ITD set construction date for 2008</FONT></H2><FONT
face="Times New Roman,Times"><BR></FONT>
<ADDRESS><FONT face="Times New Roman,Times">By Omie Drawhorn, Daily News staff
writer</FONT></ADDRESS><FONT face="Times New Roman,Times"><BR>People riding a
bike or walking from Highway 95 toward the east side of Moscow will be able to
do so without encountering traffic when a Paradise Path extension is completed.
</FONT>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman,Times">The Moscow City Council approved the
initiation of the project Tuesday. The Idaho Transportation Department in
January approved a $290,000 grant for the extension of the existing pathway. It
will be created along the abandoned railroad bed from U.S. Highway 95 at Sweet
Avenue, east to the Blaine Street intersection at State Highway 8. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman,Times">Construction for the 10-foot-wide,
3,700-foot-long asphalt path is set to start in 2008. The city will match 10.22
percent of the grants to the tune of $33,000, and will pay for the fee with a
mixture of cash, in-house engineering work and land acquisition. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman,Times">“This will complete the segment from U.S.
95 to the east city limits,” said Les MacDonald, Moscow Public Works director.
</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman,Times">The city applied for the grant in February
2005. The portion of the pathway that will extend from Sweet Avenue to Blaine
Street is now included in the 2008 Statewide Transportation Improvement Program.
</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman,Times">The Paradise Path is part of an
interconnecting paved pedestrian and bicycle path system through Moscow on a
trail system that extends west to Pullman on the Chipman Trail and eventually
will be connected to Troy with the Latah Trail on a former railroad bed. The
majority of funds have been provided by ITD. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman,Times">Latah County, the University of Idaho,
Paradise Path Task Force, Latah Trail Foundation and the cities of Troy and
Moscow have contributed to the project either through money or volunteer
efforts. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman,Times">Latah County purchased much of the rail
bed from the railroad salvage company over the past several years and acquired
permanent easements for the remaining parcels from neighboring landowners.
</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman,Times">The city, the University of Idaho and the
Palouse River and Coulee City Railroad have worked together for several years on
the land swap. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman,Times">They have yet to remove the rails from the
rail beds from the most recent planned addition but will finish with that work
by the 2008 construction date. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman,Times">The path would connect the University of
Idaho to Berman Creekside Park Trail and extend the path from the park east to
the end of another existing pathway that begins at Blaine Street and ends at the
east city limits. From there, the path turns into the Latah Trail which will
extend to Troy. Once constructed, only .25 miles of pathway would remain to
complete a crosstown pathway system. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman,Times">“There is an urgent need to separate
motorized traffic from non-motorized traffic,” T. Alan Place, president of the
Palouse Road Runners said in a January 2005 letter to IDT. “In recent years two
women have been killed on area highways. Neither of them would have died if
trails had been available. Trails have become a necessity for public safety.”
</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman,Times">Councilman Bill Lambert said he
appreciated the efforts to get funding for the project. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman,Times">“This makes total sense to me,” he said.
</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman,Times">Councilman John Dickinson agreed. “This is
an entity that we will look at 10, 20 or 100 years from now and look back and be
thankful it’s here.” </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman,Times"></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman,Times">Omie Drawhorn can be reached at (208)
882-5561, ext. 234, or by e-mail at odrawhorn@dnews.com.
</FONT></P></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>