Planning Pinedale pathways

by Cat Urbigkit

The Sublette County Commission met with Worthington, Lenhart and Carpenter planner Joanne Garnett and engineer Brian Gray to discuss the county recreation board’s proposed plan for nine pathway project routes in the Pinedale area. It’s a multi-year project proposal, Garnett said.

The top four priority routes include:

• South Tyler loop;

• Rendezvous Pointe to Valley Road, eventually to Willow Lake;

• South along Highway 191 to Old Brazzill Ranch Subdivision; and

• East along Hwy 191 from Ehman Lane to join the sidewalk in town.

The 10-foot-wide pathways would be constructed within county road rights-of-way where possible, at a cost of about $300,000 per mile.

Design for the pathways is about to get underway, with construction slated to begin next summer.

County Road Superintendent Butch Penton said while he doesn’t want to “throw a wrench” into the program, the existing bikepath constructed next to and adjacent to the roadway along the Fremont Lake Road isa problem for county road maintenance.

“It crosses the road three times in a mile,” Penton said.

“I don’t want to have some of the same problems on these new ones,” Penton said. Penton expressed concern about the South Tyler route, saying there is little room for the road, let alone a bikepath.

Mark Eatinger of Rio Verde Engineering said whatever pathwayis put in would be safer than what is occurring now, since people are using the roadway along with vehicle traffic.

“Let’s not repeat the same mistakes,” Commissioner Bill Cramer said.

Garnett said her firm will continue to work closely with Penton to try to address potential problems in the design process.