RIGBY — People living in the Hunter Creek subdivision say their voices are being drowned out about the construction of a footbridge.
“When you listen to the City Council, there’s a movement for the footbridge, but I think that there’s only just a handful of people that are actually for it,” Hunter Creek resident Todd Housley said.
The Rigby City Council has been discussing the idea of a footbridge across the Rigby Canal since last May, which would connect the open space between North Fourth West over the canal. It would also link the Hunter Creek and the Pioneer Park subdivisions.
The notion has some neighbors upset, and others hoping for the change.
“All of us in this neighborhood, we keep our kids away from that canal.”
Neighbors who are against the idea of the bridge say it is a threat to their children’s safety.
“We’re worried the bridge is going to be an attractant to children to go play near the water,” Housley said. “For most kids in this neighborhood, they’re not even aware that the canal is there at all. They think it’s just an area with a lot of weeds that their mom told them they can’t go (to).”
“All of us in this neighborhood, we keep our kids away from that canal,” resident Tiffany Clifford said.
Some residents also expressed concerns about the footbridge leading to an increase in crime.
“There’s a lot of good people over there, I have family members over there. I love and respect a lot of people over there, but unfortunately there is a lot of crime and there’s a few people that ruin the area,” Clifford said.
But City Council President Doug Burke told EastIdahoNews.com that crime isn’t an issue at the Pioneer Park subdivision.
“There’s not a significant increase of crime from that neighborhood to this neighborhood,” Burke said.
And it’s not just the construction of the footbridge that has people concerned. Some residents tell EastIdahoNews.com they are worried if a footbridge is built, it could eventually become a vehicle bridge and increase traffic in the neighborhood.
But the City Council says that isn’t likely either. In a November 2016 meeting, the council discussed building the footbridge on Fourth West in addition to the possibility of building a vehicle bridge in another location — down the street on Fifth West.
But these arguments may not even matter — since its unclear if the bridge will be built. City leaders disagree about the necessity of the bridge.
In the meeting, Rigby Mayor Jason Richardson said there was a benefit to having subdivisions separated from one another and said at that time there may not be a solution that satisfies everyone. Richardson told EastIdahoNews.com that neighbors south of the canal would lose the benefits that come along with a quiet neighborhood.
“Anytime you increase traffic through a quiet neighborhood, it makes it less easy for little kids to be out and the strollers to be out,” Richardson said.
He added the footbridge could affect the marketability and price value of homes in that neighborhood, and possibly decrease the desirability of the neighborhood for potential buyers.
City council members though, said that the Pioneer Park subdivision residents need the footbridge for better access to their church building on Fifth West. They said it would also allow kids on both sides of the canal to get together more conveniently.
Burke said having the footbridge — and a potential vehicle bridge on Fifth West — is necessary for the safety of those who live in Pioneer Park. The Central Fire District issued a recommendation to the Planning and Zoning administrator addressing exits from the subdivision.
Burke said having a footbridge would be safer than what kids seem to be doing now — putting boards down to cross the canal.
“We, the Central Fire District, would advise that an egress road off of Caribou Street would be an investment in safe passage, and safe emergency operations for the patrons of that area,” Assistant Fire Chief Carl Anderson said.
Burke added that it could be beneficial to have an exit, or a vehicle bridge, for the safety of the residents in case of an emergency.
He also mentioned that having a footbridge would be safer than what kids seem to be doing now — putting boards down to cross the canal.
“There’s a huge safety issue as far as crossing that canal. You see kids playing in that canal. They try to set boards and walk across that canal and play in the canal,” Burke said.
Burke said the footbridge was a line item under the city’s capital improvement fund, and that funds were were approved last August for 2017’s budget. He said the bridges were a part of the subdivisions’ original plans some 15 years ago and that the city should have pushed to build them back then.
Burke said there isn’t much residents can do about the footbridge construction since the budget has already been approved. However, Richardson disputes that claim and said that information was false.
“That’s not true at all. We approve quite a bit of different projects that we have the funding for, but it goes through some discovery and debate whether or not we should put the things in, or how we should do it,” Richardson said.
Unofficial numbers on informal petitions for the footbridge were roughly 176 for the bridge and 70 against, according to the Rigby City Clerk’s office.
Additionally, Scott Stoker of S&S Development, the developer of the Hunter Creek Subdivision, has threatened to file a lawsuit in a March 16 letter if the footbridge was constructed. He accused the council of having meetings and discussions on the matter outside of a public meeting, according to The Jefferson Star. Stoker said members of the council had an informal meeting, which influenced the council to proceed with decision making on the bridge. He said the matter should require a public hearing and vote.
Stoker could not be reached for comment this week.
Originally the bridge was supposed to be put in before the canal started to fill. However, Burke said the canal is being filled a month and a half early, and if approved, the bridge construction could begin this fall.
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