Second Street workshop generates ideas

MEEKER — The town’s engineer, Chris Hale, participated in a telephone interview during the March 17 scheduled workshop for the Second Street right-of-way project. Trustees and staff had been waiting on Hale’s design suggestions before considering whether or not to proceed with a plan to extend Second Street from Garfield to Market Street.
Members of the public were invited to attend the workshop, but were asked to refrain from making comments during the discussion. About a half dozen residents and property owners from Second Street attended the workshop.
Hale said he looked at six different options and came up with two feasible alternatives. “It’s too tough to tell which would be the most expensive,” Hale responded to a question.
Several alternative routes have been suggested by citizens, and those are being considered by town staff as well, looking at length as well as who owns the property the suggested routes would take.
After reviewing the two designs with the engineer, and hearing other ideas from trustees and staff, Meeker Mayor Mandi Etheridge said, “The next step for this discussion is to take several steps back. First, look at why we are looking at this again; is it traffic flow, student safety, etc? Second, no decision tonight, we’re not there yet. What are we trying to accomplish with this research?”
The workshop generated discussion about looking at the “entire corridor” of Sulphur Creek Road, where traffic is expected to increase dramatically with the addition of the new elementary school as well as continued expansion of the Sanderson Hills subdivisions.
The board and staff agreed to move forward with a survey from Garfield Street to Ute Road and consider a “top-down” approach to the anticipated pedestrian and vehicular traffic congestion.