The second public input meeting for an upcoming temporary bicycle and pedestrian trail focused primarily on the materials to be used and how the project will actually come together -- though this time around, there was far less public present than expected.
The meeting was held Oct. 11.
Kay Curry, trail coordinator with the city's Community Development Services office, said she was disappointed at the lack of turnout because this is an excellent chance for people to get involved.
"I do think we had a good outcome," she said. "It's a great service for the school."
Tony Garcia of Street Plans, a Florida-based consultation firm, said construction is intended to start in about two weeks, but it hasn't yet been decided which of the three popup projects - one in Bella Vista, one in Bentonville and one in Rogers - will start first, or if they will be built concurrently.
The route for the temporary trail has been decided, as will the materials used to mark it. Road tape is planned for the lines, he said, while spray chalk is intended to be used for markings.
The trail will run along the east side of the Lake Bella Vista parking lot, then cross over to the west side of Veterans Parkway before the intersection with Skyline Drive.
From there, it will run alongside the road, crossing the creek via a new bridge and transitioning onto gravel alongside the corner parking lot across from Cooper Elementary School.
There's also a leg that runs along the southern edge of the parking lot, but Garcia said that this may need to be dropped if it can't be fit into the project's budget.
There will be a crosswalk either at the three-way intersection or across the curve on Dartmoor and going directly into the elementary school's parking lot. It's possible that both will be in place.
Another source of discussion was the crosswalks and how they should be marked.
One possibility that was kicked around was to paint the entire crosswalk, which could leave it far more visible -- but it could also be a pricier option.
"We have the option of paint that's good for a couple days," said Mike Lydon, a consultant with Street Plans, "or paint that's good for a year or so."
Long-lasting paint could be troublesome with the intended duration of this project -- roughly one month -- but the far-less-durable option means crosswalks could need to be repainted numerous times during that window, he said.
"There's a range of options," he said. "If we didn't use color, we could just use a marking chevron. It's not as visible as bright-colored paint."
Paxton Roberts, executive director of the Bicycle Coalition of the Ozarks, suggested adding a crosswalk sign to the center of the road. This would help divide the lanes, increase the crosswalk's visibility and slow drivers down, he said.
Chris Suneson, director of community development services for Bella Vista, said that he favored longer-lasting paint, and that he'd prefer to see it in green.
Separating the trail users from cars was another discussion point. The section of trail alongside Veterans Parkway is intended to be protected, but what exactly that protection will be was a source of plenty of discussion.
Initial proposals included drilling into the asphalt to anchor planters, but leaving these holes could prove problematic.
"We don't want to cause a maintenance issue out there either," Suneson said. "I mean, more than they've already got out there."
Planters may also be less-than-ideal, Lydon said, because someone needs to care for any plants that are in them for the project's duration.
"The planter would be reasonable itself," he said, "but the greenery and soil not so much."
There are a variety of other options, he said, including temporary bollards, rubber bumps that can be epoxied in place and even curbstops, which can be inexpensive and effective.
With curbstops, Roberts said, there may need to be bollards spaced out alongside them to improve visibility, as the short, heavy rubber strips may not be seen right away.
Estimating costs on some of these things can give a clearer picture of what would be ideal to use, Garcia said.
Another possibility that entered the discussion was getting some sort of art added to the chain link fence that runs along the parking lot on the corner of Dartmoor and Veterans Way.
Garcia suggested having one of the art classes from Cooper Elementary School make a project of that.
Most of the work will be similar in that it will be done by volunteers.
Lydon said he estimates the project will need about 10 workers, though that number may change some as the project evolves and more details become specific.
"It's not five and it's not 50," he said.
One thing to keep in mind, Garcia said, is that whatever gets done is going to require preparation, and some things must be done in the correct order.
Paint, for instance, has to be finished and allowed to dry before other steps can be taken. And painting requires decent weather, meaning the exact date the building will start is still uncertain.
"We can get all the materials together," Lydon said, "we can stage it, but we can't do the painting until we have good weather."
Despite the uncertainty, Kay Curry said she's excited to see where this goes, and she's a fan of the possibility of installing a temporary feature.
"I just think it's a great project," she said, "and what I like about it is we're going to get to try it out before we spend a lot of money. Even if you're a pedestrian, I would rather walk on a sidewalk that has a buffer between me and the traffic lane."
Additionally, she's excited to see Bella Vista become more bike friendly.
"These protected trails are a tremendous asset," she said. "If we had a more bike-friendly community, we could get rid of some of the traffic congestion, take a few cars off the street."
General News on 10/19/2016