(Okoboji)– An ordinance to lower the speed limit on Sanborn Avenue in Okoboji from 35 mph to 25 mph fell short of final adoption Tuesday evening. A second reading of the proposed change was approved on a 3-2 vote, but failed to receive a super majority needed to waive the 3rd reading and final adoption, meaning it will need to come back to the council for further consideration.
On a related note, the council authorized an engineering study for a recreational trail along BOTH sides of Sanborn Avenue. A plan considered a couple of years ago that never got off the drawing board called for a trail along the north side of the road. Council member Kae Hoppe says to her, a trail along BOTH sides makes more sense…
“Even if we put a 10 foot path on that side, the same people who always walk on the south side will continue to walk on the south side because of where they’re coming from and where they’re going. They’re not going to cross, walk in the middle, to cross back. And so for safety reasons, I would like to see us be on both sides.”
City Administrator Michael Meyers added it’s important the Dickinson County Trails Board be kept in the loop…
“The Trails Board, in however we can work this, has a much stronger ability to apply for grants than the city of Okoboji would, so if we could work with them on various aspects of it, I think that’s really a great idea.”
Another part of the project would involve a complete reconstruction of Sanborn Avenue itself, lowering the grade of the road by about two feet. An earlier estimate put the cost of a trail on just the north side of the road at $750,000. The latest proposal to put it on both sides has been put at roughly $2.5 million to $3 million.
