Dover seeking grant for trail connection

By Zach Hagadone
Reader Staff

The city of Dover is seeking funding from the Idaho Department of Transportation for a project to connect the trail on Dover Bay Boulevard to the Sandpoint-Dover Community Trail along U.S. Highway 2.

The grant from the Transportation Alternatives Program would enable the city to construct a new bike/pedestrian path from the terminus of the Sandpoint-Dover trail under the U.S. 2 overpass to Loretta Lane, south on Fourth Street, then west on the old highway to Dover Bay Boulevard. Another route could follow Old U.S. 2 to connect with the Dover Bay trail system.

According to an email sent by the city of Dover to potential supporters of the grant application, the project would fill a  gap in U.S. Bike Route 10, a planned bike pathway following U.S. 2 from Anacortes, Wash. to St. Ignace, Mich.

The location of the trail extension runs through the core of Old Dover, including the future post office site, SPOT Bus stop, school bus stop and Dover Joe & Roll coffee shop at the intersection of Old U.S. 2 and Fourth Street. 

According to Dover city officials, “The location at which the project is being proposed has some of the highest traffic volumes of anywhere in the city. This separated pathway is needed to ensure the safety of pedestrians and bicyclists.”

What’s more, providing a dedicated bike/pedestrian route through town would fully connect Dover to Sandpoint — and that’s something Friends of the Pend d’Oreille Bay Trail can get behind. 

“The Friends of POB Trail will provide a letter of support, because while it’s on the other side of our larger multi-city community, it does lead to greater connectivity of all our communities,” Friends of POB Trail President Susan Drumheller told the Reader in an email. 

“Won’t it be great when you can jump on a bike and safely ride all the way from Kootenai to Dover on dedicated bike paths or lanes? We are really close to that now, but could use some better connections in key places — such as the one that Dover is trying to create with this grant,” she added.