Soldotna brainstorming pop-up pedestrian safety project

Anyone who travels through Soldotna on a Wednesday during summer knows the scene. As the snow gives way to grass and flowers, the traffic returns.

From campers, to RVs, to boats, it’s no secret that the number of people moving through the city’s main corridor spikes in the summer — and that’s not to mention the thousands that flock to the area to attend festivals or Soldotna Music Series events.

It’s with that seasonal influx of pedestrians in mind that the City of Soldotna has turned new attention to a crucial summer thoroughfare: the intersection at Birch Street and the Sterling Highway. Birch Street is the only route pedestrians can take to safely cross the five-lane Sterling Highway to access Soldotna Creek Park.

The City of Soldotna newly has up to $10,000 to build a temporary project at the intersection that improves pedestrian safety, to be developed in coordination with the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities.

The city earlier this year signed an agreement with Smart Growth America to participate in what’s called the Alaska Complete Streets Academy. Through that program, roughly 15 people from Soldotna are participating in workshops and developing a project that could help make the intersection safer for pedestrians, in coordination with the State of Alaska.

“Complete Streets Leadership Academies are free, several-month technical assistance programs designed to help state (departments of transportation), state health partners, and three localities within the state work together to make streets safer and more inviting,” Smart Growth America’s website says.

Soldotna Director of Economic Development and Planning John Czarnezki said earlier this month that the city was approached by the state last year about participating in the program, which is funded by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity.

Soldotna emerged as one of the three municipalities in Alaska that the state will partner with for the program, and was selected as the site for a temporary, quick-build demonstration project. The city identified the intersection of Birch Street and the Sterling Highway as the ideal site for such a project.

Per Smart Growth America, quick-build demonstration projects are “temporary, low-cost improvements that test changes to street design.” Quick-build projects in other states have included chalking pathways around schools and bringing in temporary vegetation, to painting pedestrian intersections a new color.

Though Soldotna has not yet solidified a specific project, which would be installed this summer, Czarnezki said earlier this month that they’ve considered painting the intersection, implementing ways to slow traffic in the area and giving pedestrians more time to cross the highway.

“The goal of the project is to improve safety for pedestrians and non-motorized users as they attempt to cross the highway during the busy summer months,” Czarnezki wrote in a May 24 memo to Soldotna City Council members.

The Soldotna City Council on May 24 gave initial approval to an ordinance budgeting for the $10,000 in reimbursement funds from Smart Growth America.

The planned temporary revamp of the Birch Street and Sterling Highway intersection brought together last week a cohort of more than 20 people, including staff with the City of Soldotna, the State of Alaska and Smart Growth America. The group convened at the northwest corner of Soldotna Creek Park, near the intersection, to more closely study the future project area.

In attendance were Czarnezki, Soldotna Parks and Recreation Director Joel Todd, and representatives from the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities and Smart Growth America.

For roughly an hour, the group, broken into multiple parties, traversed the proposed project area, which includes the Sterling Highway, Birch Street, Soldotna Creek Park and the Speedway Express gas station.

Among attendees, parking emerged as a key driver of pedestrian use of the intersection. Todd said Soldotna has historically tried to secure parking wherever it can, such as through verbal agreements with private landowners, but that the effect has been small parking pockets scattered around the area.

“​​The goal originally was just (to) find parking,” Todd said. “We just needed event parking and so that was, like piecemealing it here and there and everywhere just to solve the current problem of trying to put, definitely, several thousands of people here. But now I think it’s like, OK, we could probably do this better.”

Soldotna already owns the lot behind Odie’s Deli, which is used for Soldotna Creek Park event parking, and the city council earlier this year approved an agreement with the Aspen Hotel to repurpose the lot in front of that building for parking.

When it comes to accommodating large numbers of pedestrians, however, Todd acknowledged that it is largely a seasonal problem in Soldotna. That’s part of what makes a low-cost temporary project appealing for the city.

“We’ve got a pedestrian traffic problem … (from) June to September,” Todd said. “So it’s like, you don’t really want to spend $10 billion to fix a problem when it’s only in this little window. Obviously there’s a lot of things we can do to make our community more walker-friendly but we have this balancing act too.”

Czarnezki estimates that, whatever project the city decides to go with, will be in place for about a month, with installation tentatively slated for mid to late June.

Reporter Jake Dye contributed reporting. Reach reporter Ashlyn O’Hara at ashlyn.ohara@peninsulaclarion.com.