Path in the nick of time
The Ketchum City Council’s decision to
build a bike path on Warm Springs Road over the next two years came in the
nick of time.
As one of the city’s main arteries, the
road hosts walkers, joggers, cyclists, kids in strollers, on skateboards
and scooters—along with cars traveling around 30 mph.
It’s been an accident waiting to happen
for many years, yet the need for a separate path went unmet again and
again.
The road’s shoulders do double duty as
bike lanes and parking areas. Woe to the cyclist who does not observe the
driver’s side door of a car about to be opened. The main bridge that
crosses Warm Springs Creek accommodates nothing but cars.
Trips across the bridge are harrowing
during the busy summer. Even so, the route is popular with visitors
exploring Ketchum who often bike in small family packs.
People who bike or walk Warm Springs have
stories about close calls with cars on the bridge. People who drive the
road have stories of close calls with cyclists, who suddenly found they
had no where to go but into a traffic lane as they dodged a deep pothole.
The vote for the bike path was 2-1, with a
fourth council member absent. Veteran Council members Dave Hutchinson and
Christina Potters came down firmly in support of the path and refused to
be de-railed by a potentially cheaper alternative design that would have
forced users to cross the busy street twice in order to use the path.
The two council members made a good
decision. The new path will save lives and make Ketchum a better place to
live and visit.