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Nevada Street bridge put on hold One option considered for the Nevada Street project included separate bridges for vehicles and pedestrians. [Graphic from city of Ashland] Friday Mar 24, 2017 at 3:48 PM Mar 24, 2017 at 3:58 PM By JULIE AKINS for the Daily Tidings What began with contentious arguments in 2015 ended somewhat quietly Thursday night, with the Ashland Transportation Commission voting unanimously to shelve a proposed East Nevada Street bridge. Only one citizen testified. Sue Hall suggested to the commissioners that the money could be better spent elsewhere. “Since 2012," she said, "we have $6,755,000 in existing sidewalk projects that have not advanced at all; we’ve completed only four projects, two are still in progress and one scheduled to happen; $3,100,000 in uncompleted bicycle projects.” The proposed multi-million dollar bridge would have carried East Nevada Street over Bear Creek between Oak Street and North Mountain Avenue. The price tag of the project became a sticking point, along with the question of whether a large multi-use bridge would be appropriate for the neighborhood. The cost varied, depending on the level of the project: A conventional bridge, wide enough for two car lanes with pedestrian-bike paths, was priced at $6.3 million; a bike-pedestrian-only bridge, $5.7 million; two bridges, one each for bike-ped and one for cars, $6.3 million; and bike-ped and emergency vehicles bridge, $4.4 million. Realignment of sharp turns on Nevada Street at North Mountain would cost approximately $431,000. Transportation Commissioner Joseph Graf said he did not feel the project was without merit. “Some kind of connection across Bear Creek has value,” he said. Graf, however, also said while it was not unreasonable to consider the East Nevada Street bridge, now is not the time. “Knowing what we know today, I would say we’re not ready.” Commissioner Corinne Vieville questioned whether there would be an adequate benefit. “I don’t think it would be an advantage for the large part of Ashland,” said Vieville. “We haven’t done the homework to really justify it at all.” When the bridge was first proposed in 2015, the city said it already had $1.5 million from a federal Surface Transportation Fund and $1 million in systems development charges for the bridge and, using former legislator Al Densmore of Medford as a lobbyist, would try to snare the rest from the Legislature. However, the city said, the federal grant likely wouldn't be available if it were a pedestrian-bike bridge only. While they voted not to move forward with the bridge, the commissioners said it may be worth considering again in the future. Commissioner Dave Young wasn’t supportive of that idea. “There is no need now or in the foreseeable future for this project,” Young said. “It was an extremely flawed process.” The approved motion recommended the City Council reject the proposed motorized vehicle bridge, but did not preclude the possibility of revisiting the need for a bridge in the future if plans or conditions change. “I feel like this particular project needs to start over,” Commissioner Sue Newberry told the group. "When it comes back it should be based on its own development factors." As commissioners packed up to leave the City Hall Chamber, where the meeting took place, many agreed they were thankful the issue was coming to a close, at least for now. — Email Ashland freelance writer Julie Akins at [email protected] and follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/@julieakins.