Bridge funding hits snag

James Coburn
The Edmond Sun

EDMOND June 25, 2009 02:00 am

— A proposed pedestrian bridge that would connect the FestivalMarket Place to 142 proposed parking spaces across Edmond Road hit a funding roadblock Monday.
The City of Edmond has been denied two Surface Transportation Program Enhancement federal grants to help fund the proposed Centennial pedestrian bridge, said Jan Fees, of the city’s planning department.
“They said a lot of cities filed for programs in our area,” Fees said at a Tuesday committee meeting of the Central Urban Development Board. Applications for these funds can be made every two years, she added.
These grants administered by the Oklahoma Department of Transportation would have amounted to nearly $400,000, according to the City Council.
The City Council approved a resolution in October to secure funds for the project. The Benham Company bridge design would cost the city a little more than $1 million. This cost would include a $485,000 new parking lot on the south side of Edmond Road just west of Broadway and east of the railroad tracks. The bridge itself would cost $565,500.
Downtown business owner and Urban Board member Bryanne Wallace said the bridge is meant to enhance small business in downtown Edmond’s commercial district and Festival Market Place.
Wallace said the bridge would significantly enhance commercial development going south from Second Street on Broadway. It could also raise property values on south Broadway as development occurs, she said.
Wallace said she’s concerned that parents with children have been seen parking in between the train tracks to attend the Festival Market Place on recent Saturdays.
“People say this isn’t for safety. We need that parking for safety,” Wallace said. “… We’re going to have an accident. And I just think somebody’s going to be real sorry. I would hate to think that the pedestrian bridge is not a top priority with the city when we have traffic coming to downtown like we have now for all of the events.”
An urban bridge would also provide parking if passenger rail comes to Edmond, City Councilman Wayne Page has said.
Board member Russell Wantland asked if “Obama money” could be considered as a way to fund the bridge with stimulus money.
Community Development Block Grant Coordinator Shannon Entz told The Edmond Sun that there may be opportunities to apply for other federal grants regarding the pedestrian bridge.
“We will continue to pursue grant opportunities to fund the construction of the bridge itself,” City Councilman Charles Lamb told The Sun.