COLUMBIA — Members of the GetAbout Columbia executive committee recommended a list of 18 priority projects with an estimated total cost of $15,741,886, in a meeting Tuesday afternoon. The final list covered construction and improvement work on bike trails, sidewalks and shared-use paths, as well as improvements to major intersections in the city. Construction start dates range from February 2009 to September 2010.
Mayor Darwin Hindman chaired the meeting, which was also attended by a member of the infrastructure subcommittee. The meeting involved a review of an infrastructure priority list that was presented at the City Council work session on June 25.
The list is a revision of the existing infrastructure working plan. A revised map, dated June 27, differentiates the priority projects from those of reduced priority.
Ted Curtis, the manager of the federal Bike/Ped Program who is in charge of the infrastructure for GetAbout Columbia, detailed the listed items individually as the committee members discussed each project and offered suggestions such as cost-effective measures and materials to be considered.
Projects that are going into construction now are at Forum and Stadium boulevards, Providence Road and Stadium Boulevard, and Providence and Stewart roads. Construction will also start on three sidewalks, Leeway Drive from Blue Ridge Elementary School to Brown Station Road, West Ash Street from west of Stadium Boulevard to Heather Lane, and Smiley Lane from east of Derby Ridge Drive to Bold Venture Drive.
In recommending the 18 projects, the staff and advisory committee of GetAbout Columbia took into account criteria such as the potential for “modal shift” — the overall shift from using cars to using bicycles — increased connectivity, amount of engineering complete, the level of neighborhood support, acquisition difficulty, time frame and distribution around city wards.
Curtis said that of the $22 million federal funding, $13 million had been set aside for use in capital projects, more than $2.5 million for promotions and advertising, $1.5 million for planning and project management and more than $2 million for bike lanes, routes and parking in the city center.
The executive committee later passed a motion to move the sidewalk project on Stadium Boulevard from Providence Road to College Avenue to the priority list. They also decided to run feasibility studies on the second phase of the County House Trail, on improvements proposed to the Bear Creek Trail from Cosmopolitan Park Trail to the Interstate-70 Bridge, and on a link to Bluff Dale Avenue.
Following Tuesday’s meeting, the list would be submitted to the City Council for final approval. Jill Stedem, the spokeswoman for the Public Works Department said on Wednesday the City Council is expected to vote on the priority list recommendation in late July.