Hyde
Park will rebuild 700 East with or without county's
proposed alternate road
By Brad Plothow
April 06, 2006| Cache County wants 45 miles per hour.
Hyde park wants 25. Cache County wants an alternate
route for north-south commuters in the valley; Hyde
Park just wants to divert school-bound traffic off a
very narrow 200 South Street.
The objectives for county officials and Hyde Park
administrators are different, but they could mesh if
the two entities can agree on the particulars of the
proposed north-south corridor. Even if the county's
plan doesn't pan out, though, Hyde Park still intends
to develop 700 East Street to shoulder some of the traffic
flow along 200 South Street, which is currently the
route of choice for people commuting through Hyde Park
to Sky View High School in Smithfield.
"We're moving forward with our portion of it," said
Hyde Park mayor Dave Kooyman of the city's work on 700
East Street, which would be Hyde Park's portion of the
county corridor. "It's been in our master plan for years."
Since last year, the county has been looking into
the possibility of building an alternate route to U.S.
Highway 91 for north-south commuters. One plan would
create a corridor from south Logan through Smithfield,
which could either be built by an engineering firm or
done in a piecemeal fashion by each of the municipalities
involved.
Hyde Park doesn't plan on waiting for all parties
to agree on the corridor's speed and right of way requirements,
as well as financing. As part of normal development
through east Hyde Park, the city plans to upgrade 700
East, part of which was already built out when part
of Lions Park was constructed.
"It's all conceptual right now, anyway," said Charles
Wheeler, Hyde Park's councilman in charge of roads.
"It's still all in discussion."
The county asked engineer Dan Turner for a preliminary
design, but no substantial progress has been made on
getting all the municipalities affected on the same
page. For its part, Hyde Park is reluctant to allow
the county's recommended 45 mph speed limit through
a mostly residential section of 700 East, especially
with the limited number of stop signs that were proposed.
"The city didn't feel like those were things we could
live with," said Wheeler, who cited 25 mph as an appropriate
speed.
Kooyman said he's willing to compromise, but he won't
allow a speed limit higher than 35 mph.
Kooyman added that he wants 66 feet of right-of-way
along the road, and limited access to it. Wheeler said
the way to create limited access is to have inlet roads
that flow traffic from neighborhoods to the road --
no driveway access.
Funding is also an issue for Hyde Park. Wheeler said
the county could finance construction, on condition
that each municipality repay its portion later. Unless
that becomes the case, Hyde Park likely will continue
building out 700 East a piece at a time.
"We'll have to do it a section at a time because of
cost," Kooyman said.
Also of concern is the awkward intersection where
1200 East in North Logan meets up with Hyde Park's 700
East -- almost a 90-degree turn.
"There is a really awkward corner there," Wheeler
sad without commenting on how to remedy the problem
if the corridor was built.
Wheeler and Kooyman plan to attend a county meeting
about the proposed corridor on April 10. Until then,
North Logan will be the most active municipality in
planning for a possible corridor. North Logan as been
trying to get residents' feedback on the proposal.
If North Logan agrees to move forward with the county's
plan, Hyde Park probably would follow, Kooyman said.
"North Logan is probably the key to this," the mayor
said. "In order [the corridor project] could shift the
cities' priorities."
Or not. Regardless of county involvement, Hyde Park
will still finish its portion -- for city commuters
rather than people looking to bypass Highway 91.
"If [county corridor plans] fizzle out, the end result
will be the same for Hyde Park," Wheeler said
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