According to the Homer News July 16, 2009, front page article entitled "DOT switches gears on East End Road fix," the purpose of the project is to "provide safety improvements and road rehabilitation to East End Road from Kachemak Drive all the way out to McNeil Canyon Elementary School, a distance of eight and a half miles."

Rather than extending the current design of a 30 foot separated pathway to only mile 5 of East End Road, I am in favor of using the $9 million dollars in available funding for simply extending the shoulder of the road as wide as possible on the unimproved portion of the road from Kachemak Drive to McNeil Canyon Elementary School.

As recently as last week, a person was hospitalized for injuries received as a result of a bicycle accident after hitting a frost heave on pavement over a culvert on the current "improved" path.

This road "improvement," over 30 feet wide and miles short of the intended distance to the school is now on the redesign table. But the redesign simply extends the current design plan to mile 5, far short of the mile 12.2 original target.

Because I was out of town when the East End Road fix public meeting was held, I am writing to put my 2 cents in as a proxy. It seems that the original promise of the original intent for the road fix has been replaced with an either/or option to work on the Fritz Creek curve or to extend the current design as far as the money will go (1.5 miles).

"The decision to proceed with the Waterman Road plan has been made and no further public meetings on the subject are planned," said Mike Hall, project manager for the state Department of Transportation and Public Facilities. "This is the direction we're going to go now," Hall said.

Hold on a minute. Who is making the final decision here? The same article states that, "In the meantime, state officials are working on a final, clearly defined plan that they can take to the Federal Highway Administration for approval." So, who is the boss? This is not a done deal, folks -- until the money is spent as approved by the feds.

The newly proposed plan design cuts the heart out of this project (mile 5 to mile 10), where in many places there is not enough room for the paint on the road to define the edge limits for vehicle travel (let alone pedestrian traffic).

From Walters Street near mile 10 all the way to the school, the last road improvement provided a humble four- foot paved shoulder on both sides of the road that is wide enough for pedestrians, bicycles and pets to travel safely in both directions.

FUNCTION BEFORE FASHION

East End Road is located in rural Alaska, not downtown New York City. Do we really need a 30-foot wide path with a ditch in the middle for pedestrians and bicycles, curbs to step off of, plow or run into with your car, storm drains to get clogged, culverts to freeze and heave, streetlights, a ditch to "separate" the path, etc.? Please. This was promised for all, not just part, of the people.

Instead of a fashionable 30-foot extension over a couple of miles, I propose that the DOT and the road designers, WHPacific, divide the $9 million dollars available by the distance yet to be fulfilled by the original plan and provide a functional safety corridor along the road.

Ocean Drive in Homer provides such a simple example: a no-frills bike path.

Do the math. The totally unimproved portion of the road runs from Kachemak Drive (Mile 3.5) to Walters Street (Mile 10). Ten miles minus three and a half miles equals six and a half miles (10-3.5=6.5 miles).

Six and a half miles divided into $9 million equals $1,384,615 per mile of allocated funding to do the job. So, my proposal is to divide the available money into how much wider the road can be made on one or both sides -- every inch of the way, and just do it, even if it only amounts to a few feet of unpaved gravel. I bet the job can be done with money left over for a ribbon-cutting ceremony with the new governor. Like I always say: "Do it right the last time!" Well, this is the last time for the foreseeable future, unless we can find state funding or private donors. Good luck.

"Once the $9 million is spent, the future of the original East End Road rehabilitation project is up in the air," said Hall. "I don't know the answer. I would like to think the project is still alive out to McNeil Canyon but it's probably going to need other funding sources," Hall said.

We can do more with less, without the acquiring "other funding sources," as Hall says. By the way, with Uncle Ted Stevens gone, and Don Young no longer chairman of the transportation committee, forget any more money from Uncle Sam for East End Road.

It "would take at least a year and a half before construction can begin on the road," said Hall. That is because they have to buy additional land for a 32-foot wide design.

With a smaller path footprint, the state can exercise eminent domain on land that it already owns rather than acquiring extra right-of-way, moving utilities or putting in underpasses, overpasses, signals, crosswalks or other expensive and dangerous access ways across the road. This proposal saves more and gets the work done faster.

A simple 6- to 8-foot shoulder extension will give pedestrians, pets and bicycles a place to travel safely, all the way to town. The current "design plan" cuts out seven miles of road for people to travel on safely -- even those driving cars, trucks and tractors. If that section is omitted from the plan, you can be sure more people will be hurt unless our officials devise some law to prohibit either vehicle or foot travel on the unimproved road, which is used by thousands of people.

Craig Cutler has lived in Homer for 28 years and is a former East End jogger.

Please re-read the Homer News article (online). If you received the letter from WH Pacific, (July 01, 2009) please re-read it, or request it from Louis Bassler : WHPacific Project Manager at 800-478-4153 or e-mail lbassler@whpacific.com. The web address is www.whpacific.com

DOT&PF Project Manager Mike Hall can be reached at 907-269-0592 or by e-mail at michael.hall@alaska.gov.