The city of Hailey should keep all Highway 75 traffic on Main Street rather than routing northbound traffic up Main Street and redirecting southbound traffic onto River Street.
The recommendation is just one of many to come out of an ongoing study of Hailey's transportation system. The results of the study, which were released Wednesday, Jan. 17, point to a number of possible fixes that could help alleviate various traffic safety issues throughout town.
During the special meeting, public works department employees and traffic experts from The Transpo Group, a Northwest-based engineering and transportation planning firm, discussed various traffic calming measures with a large crowd of Hailey residents.
The recommendations aren't final, however, and are still somewhat in flux.
The meeting was part of an ongoing planning process designed to develop a Hailey transportation master plan to guide the city's future decisions on managing traffic on various streets and thoroughfares, including the Highway 75 and Main Street corridor. The document also will guide future planning decisions for making the city safer for children, pedestrians and bicyclists commuting around town.
Heading up the meeting was The Transpo Group's Andy Mortensen.
Mortensen said the alternative they are recommending to keep all Highway 75 traffic on Main Street was selected primarily because of the desire to keep River Street a place for residents.
"Keeping River Street a local route" would be in keeping with the locals' vision for downtown Hailey and River Street, Mortensen said.
Explained in greater detail, Mortensen and The Transpo Group's recommendation for modifying how Highway 75 traffic flows through town would rely on a number of new traffic measures.
Perhaps the most significant aspect of the recommended alternative would be the placing of signal lights where Myrtle and Elm streets cross Main Street. Main Street would remain a five-lane road with the middle lane reserved for turning lanes where needed.
Select areas of the middle lane would also be considered for decorative treatments like raised vegetated medians to provide crossing pedestrians with a greater margin of safety.
Other aspects of the recommended plan would place vehicle roundabouts where River Street intersects with McKercher Boulevard and Cedar Street.
Addressing concerns about the suitability of roundabouts in snow country, Mortensen noted that cities like Boulder and Vail, both in Colorado, have used them with success.
"It's not like we're bringing something from Mars to a community in snow country," he said.
Additional changes on River Street could include back-in angled parking along commercial areas and wider—perhaps as much as 12-feet—sidewalks in those areas. Bike lanes could also be created on both sides of the street.
Also discussed were the topics of creating safer routes to school for children and making Woodside Boulevard a safer place for pedestrians, bicyclists and children.
In the downtown Hailey core, roads receiving the greatest pedestrian and bicycle improvements under the plan would be Second Avenue and Myrtle, Bullion, Croy and Elm streets. These improvements would potentially include designated bike lanes in addition to separated sidewalks for pedestrians. Similar improvements could also take place on Woodside Boulevard.
The need for the improvements is abundantly clear, Mortensen said.
The best estimates indicate that by 2026, traffic on Main Street will have risen by 57 percent. This means that, without improvements, traffic on Main Street will be over-capacity, Mortensen said.
This could also lead to some motorists using alternative roads through more sensitive areas to escape the anticipated traffic delays.
But major question marks remain: When and how will these Hailey traffic fixes be implemented, and how will they be funded?
At Hailey's next meeting for the ongoing planning process—set to happen sometime this spring—The Transpo Group consultants will return with recommendations on how to fund the cost of the traffic improvements.
As part of the task given to them by the city, the consulting firm will investigate various avenues of funding, including federal, state and other grant possibilities.
The consultants have estimated the total cost of all the improvements could be as high as $20 million.
Consultants with Northwest-based The Transpo Group released recommendations for improving safety on Hailey streets at a public meeting Wednesday. The firm?s recommendations include additional signal lights where Myrtle and Elm streets cross Main Street and better infrastructure for pedestrians and bicyclists on select residential streets through the downtown core. Additional pedestrian crosswalk improvements could also take place at select intersections, including Main and Bullion streets, shown here. Photo by David N. Seelig
