A little piece of history trod upon by thousands of people over the years is no longer a part of Ketchum.
The wooden sidewalk on the south side of the Lane Mercantile building at the corner of Main Street and Sun Valley Road is being replaced for safety reasons, according to city staff.
"It's a hazard," said City Administrator Ron LeBlanc. "We've had people trip and fall."
Still, pedestrians were not happy to see the boardwalk go. Currently occupied by Starbucks, the Lane Mercantile is one of the oldest structures on Main Street and served as a business center and gathering place in the early 1900s.
"There's a unique feel here," said Lishanna Tryllium, who calls Galena Lodge home. "I would be worried about that changing."
Ripping up remnants of the past could be deleterious to the local economy, she said, especially if it facilitates larger corporations establishing a presence here.
Destroying historic aspects and replacing them with reproductions creates a false atmosphere, added her companion, Mike Sweeney.
"It's ironic," he said. "There's an old ... West town charm, but everything has been made in the last five years."
Blaine Ness, bartender and server at the Roosevelt Tavern, watched Monday as the boardwalk was taken away.
"I think it added character," he said. The restaurant on Main Street has north-facing windows that open to the once-wooden walkway.
"It added to the historical value (of the area)," Ness said. "It's a sad thing, but at the same time, it probably was a hazard."
The right-turn lane on Sun Valley Road was closed for the better part of Monday and Tuesday, irritating drivers in the heavy traffic period of mid-August.
LeBlanc said construction crews weren't available earlier in the season.
"It's really a tight construction season here and we want to have that done before Wagon Days (over Labor Day weekend)," he said. "We picked Monday and Tuesday as the slowest days of the week."
A few other wooden sidewalks remain in Ketchum, and the city has no plans to remove them, he added.
The city crew working Monday wondered what treasures they would unearth from below the planks.
Their take for the day? Three dimes, a nickel and three pennies.
City construction crews work Monday to replace the wooden sidewalk at the corner of Main Street and Sun Valley Road in Ketchum. The city says the walkway represented a hazard and has caused several accidents and injuries. Only a few wooden sidewalks remain in the city. Photo by Willy Cook
