9/13/2013
Sand Creek Byway competes for national awards; public encouraged to vote
SANDPOINT - The Sand Creek Byway, first proposed more than a half-century ago, is among 10 projects nationwide vying for America’s Transportation Award.
If selected for the grand prize or people’s choice award, the project would do more than route commercial and through traffic around Sandpoint; it could benefit a local bicycle and pedestrian organization.
The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), AAA and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce began the award program in 2008 to honor projects that are completed ahead of schedule, under budget or use innovative practices. The 2.1-mile Sand Creek Byway opened in July 2012 and is being considered for completion “ahead of schedule.”
Sponsors of the eighth-annual competition will award $10,000 for the project that earns the grand prize and for the one receiving the most public votes in the people’s choice category.
If the Idaho Transportation Department project wins either of those awards, it will designate the corresponding prize money to North Idaho Bikeways, a nonprofit corporation created in 1995 to establish a network of bike and pedestrian trails connecting Sandpoint with its neighboring communities. Selection of the trail organization as an award beneficiary was based on the recommendation of the Bonner County Area Transportation Team.
The public can help determine the people’s choice award by voting for the Sand Creek Byway entry on the America’s Transportation Awards website, http://americastransportationawards.org . Select the “vote now” graphic on the right side of the website to access an official ballot. Individuals can vote a maximum of 10 times daily through Oct. 2.
Since its creation in 1995, the North Idaho Bikeways has helped the Sandpoint area create 9.5 miles of separated bike trails. Other projects also are being developed.
For more information about the nonprofit organization, visit its website: http://www.northidahobikeways.com
Twenty-four states entered a collective 36 projects in the national competition. The 10 finalists received the highest number of overall points during four regional AASHTO meetings this summer representing each part of the country. The Sand Creek Byway emerged from the Western Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (WASHTO) competition as the best project completed ahead of schedule.
“The 10 projects competing for top honors have made incredible impacts on their communities,” said Bud Wright, AASHTO executive director. “The America’s Transportation Awards competition was created to highlight all that our state transportation departments do each day to deliver quality, impactful transportation projects ahead of schedule, under their projected budgets, and through exceptional innovation. We are very proud of these state DOTs and their outstanding projects.”
The other states represented as finalists in the national competition are: California, Georgia, Indiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, Rhode Island and Utah.