The Island Park Preservation Coalition hosted an Island Park community meeting to discuss the US 20 – Ashton to SH 87 highway project. About 60 people attended the meeting, including county commissioners, all the Idaho District 31 legislators, and an Island Park City Council president. There were numerous engineers in attendance who provided great input. The public was very engaged in the discussion and provided great insight and opinions on the project.
The agenda included the purpose and need for the project, safety data, traffic study, screening the design alternatives with NO Island Park involvement, Idaho Transportation Department alternative (4 lanes), super 2 lane highway, 2 lane total bypass, what does the community want, and path forward. Many were surprised to learn that there was no trend toward more accidents. There was great concern over the significant shortcomings of the traffic studies. Engineers in the audience were very concerned about the data and the approach. The community showed concern about having NO involvement in the alternatives screening process. At one point there was a show of hands regarding a 4 lane freeway in the Island Park Caldera. It appeared that there was unanimous opposition to 4 lanes. Many thought that consideration of a Super 2 Lane Highway was warranted and that study of a two lane bypass was warranted. Neither of these are being considered by ITD. Many thought that future technology developments will change highway design long before the target design year if 2050. The attendees expected major changes in policy at Yellowstone National Park, including a reservation system which may profoundly reduce traffic on US 20. The discussion was very lively when it came to what road design the community wanted. It was clear they did not want a 4 lane. There was considerable discussion about the Super 2 Lane highway and what features it would have. This included suggestions for improvements to the design for the unique needs of our area. There was concern about any expansion of the current highway in the vicinity of Harriman State Park. The right of way and the deed were discussed. The consensus seemed to be that Harriman cannot be jeopardized in any way by this highway. The community agreed to form a subcommittee within IPPC to work toward a “community solution”. This subcommittee will be formed from the attendees and other interested parties. There was some limited discussion of forming a coalition of partners to address alternatives. IPPC has been moving in this direction for some time. One unanswered question was “why is ITD trying to move so fast on the planning for this project”? Many thought that there should be a pause in the planning process until more current and adequate data can be collected to inform this project. Talking/correspondence points will be developed so that the community can communicate uniformly and effectively with their elected officials and the ITD Board. It is clear that the community is not convinced that a 4 lane is needed and that it would have a VERY negative impact on the Island Park Caldera. If you care about the future of your community, please get involved. Submitted by Ken Watts
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Making Sense of It All
This blog will help you make sense out of all the information on the website, how it affects IP, our history, and how efforts continue to put IP into various forms of conservation status. Archives
May 2023
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