Kearns officials told the Transportation Coordinating Committee on June 20 that a planned restriping and multimodal upgrade of Cougar Lane aims to reduce congestion near Kearns High School and improve safety for pedestrians and cyclists.

The project, described by Chad Anderson, Salt Lake County Public Works engineering staff representing Kearns, keeps the existing roadway footprint while reallocating lanes and adding a shared-use path on the west side. "Big aspect of the project is to add the shared use path to the west side of the road, which is gonna be 6 feet of green pavement to designate the bike lane and 6 feet of just regular gray pavement for the pedestrian portion of the path," Anderson said.

Project elements include converting the east-side bike lane to a buffered bike lane, new pedestrian ramps, drainage improvements to reduce standing water, milling and overlay and traffic-signal upgrades including radar detection, audible pedestrian buttons and leading pedestrian intervals. The design team also plans wider mast arms for HAWK signal upgrades in front of school crossings.

Timeline and funding: Anderson said the project was at roughly 60% design with 90% PSE due Sept. 3. Right-of-way acquisitions are underway; the sponsor expects to advertise the project in March and open bids in April (dates provided by project staff). Funding comes from a Surface Transportation Program (STP) grant of $2,223,000 plus Kearns/Salt Lake County contributions of about $500,000, for a total near $2.8 million.

Mayor Kelly Bush of Kearns said the corridor serves a high school, a county recreation center and an Olympic oval and has a history of rear-end crashes and pedestrian and bicycle conflicts. "We're now the community will be able to actually, share this and and keep that much safer for all the pedestrians," Mayor Bush said, citing anticipated maintenance and safety improvements.

Ending: Project sponsors said the reconfiguration was shaped to avoid costly earthwork discovered in geotechnical studies and to make the corridor safer for all modes while fitting the community’s constraints.