Chris Banyas
Staff Writer
Martin Luther King Jr. Way is scheduled to be remodeled beginning in the spring of 2015 under the Complete Streets Project, pending city approval of specific plan elements.
The idea for the remodel has been in the works for several years, and only recently found an adequate source of funding.
“I started working on it three or four years ago, picking up where the city and ISU had come to an agreement of, ‘Hey we want to do something,’” said Project Coordinator Hannah Sanger, the science and environment department manager for the City of Pocatello.
“I’ve been working on finding grant funding opportunities. This was the first time we’ve been successful at getting money for this project,” she said.
In total $500,000 was secured through the Idaho Transportation Department’s Community Choices grant project.
The process of getting city and Idaho State University employees on the same page is another reason the project was in planning for so long.
“One of the things that made a big difference was actually when we got drawings from Alissa Salmore, a landscape architect, that provided a visual of what it could look like,” said Sanger. “That really fostered communication and made it possible for everyone to understand each other and throw darts at it.”
The route that the street currently follows will not be adjusted but the sides of the street will.
“There will still be the same number of traffic lanes; we’re just adding landscaping and bike lanes,” said Sanger.
“It’s just going to be a much more attractive street. We’re putting in benches, lots of trees, places to sit to really make it a focus on the pedestrians while still allowing buses to go through, cars to go through and emergency vehicles to go through,” she continued.
The remodel will address many issues with the current state of the street but primarily aims to improve pedestrian safety.
“One of the things we noticed was that people cross wherever on MLK,” said Sanger. “The time when it’s most dangerous is actually not high traffic, because then people really look. It’s the low traffic times, particularly at night, when you think you’re safe but the cars can’t see you, because they’ve got that rise in the hill there.”
Landscaping will be used as a buffer as well as a barrier between pedestrians and traffic, and will also serve to better direct people to crosswalks, minimizing pedestrian-vehicle interaction.
The area also has issues with storm water, which will be addressed in the remodel.
“When it rains, there’s a lot of water coming down MLK, so we also want to use it as a demonstration for various rain water treatment practices that are aesthetically appealing,” said Sanger.
Over the course of the project, employees of the City of Pocatello have worked closely with those of ISU.
“Every decision that’s being made is essentially going through ISU,” said Sanger. “So the facilities department has been really instrumental in making this happen and getting us the support from the administration and getting us feedback about what will work and where they might see problems that need to be addressed.”
Proposed changes awaiting city approval include one block of 9th Avenue heading north being converted to one way, and a section of back-in parking along the same street near the library.
