By Kathryn Kemp

December 13, 2005 | CACHE COUNTY -- The hope of having a main road that would go straight from North Logan to Smithfield may be farther away than some city and county officials had hoped.

Smithfield, Hyde Park, North Logan and the county have all been involved in discussions about creating a "through-road" that would be wider, have a higher speed, limited driveway access, and fewer stop signs. Jim Gass, Smithfield City's manager and engineer, said the intent is to make it a more major road, so that 800 East isn't the only one east of Main Street

The idea was originally proposed by Smithfield's mayor, Gass said. What they hope for is to have the road start on 1000 East in Smithfield, connect to 700 East in Hyde Park, and become 1200 East in North Logan.

Since the street names are different in each city, Gass said the new name would be "Hillside Parkway". But "it's still undecided whether or not it will happen," he said, since Smithfield is the only city that has signed the inter-local agreement.

North Logan Mayor Val Potter said that they had originally passed the proposal, but decided to reverse that decision at the next meeting. Part of their reasoning resulted from an article that was printed in the Herald Journal that called the plan a "main street alternative." Potter said that as a result, there were many angry citizens at Hyde Park's city council meeting that night who objected to the plan. This led both North Logan and Hyde Park to decide to back away from the plan for now, until the residents could be more aware and accepting of the plans.

Potter says he still fully supports the plan, and believes Hyde Park does too.

Another reason North Logan decided to hold off for now is that the city council felt they didn't have the money to fund it right now. Potter said that they would like to have a better, wider road, but because they already have 1200 East, it isn't as big a concern. But he would eventually like to see it happen, because he feels it will be good for the community.

The speed limit is also a concern for some people. Gass said the planned speed would be 40 mph, which both Hyde Park's and North Logan's mayors find a little bit too fast. In Hyde Park the road goes through a city park, so speeds would have to be reduced to 20 or 25 mph.

"Yes, speed is a concern, but it won't be in Hyde Park because they won't be going that fast," Hyde Park Mayor David Kooyman said.

If and when the development does happen, each city would in charge of developing their own section of the road, and different things would be happening in each area.

In Hyde Park, Kooyman said that they were in the process of developing 700 East before the idea was even proposed. In fact, part of the road between 200 South and 100 North, was completed just recently. There are six homes between 200 and 300 North that will be affected by the widening of the road, but Kooyman said the owners were aware of the plan for development when they bought the property.

In North Logan, the road is already there but it would have to be widened. There is also one home on the corner of 2300 North and 1200 East that will have to be moved in order to straighten out a small "jog" in the road that is about a block long. Potter said if you drove north on 1200 East and kept going, you would eventually run right into the house. Fortunately, the city bought that property about five years ago with the intention of eventually knocking it down and paving a road there. Until then, they just rent it out.

Wendell Morse, director of development services for Cache County, said they also hope to have a bike path that would run along the east side of the canal, at least along some parts of the road.

Eventually, everyone is hoping the road will be an encouraging addition to the cities. "I see it as a real positive thing," said Kooyman. In Hyde Park it will alleviate traffic from 400 East, which is a smaller more dangerous road.

"We're affected by growth in North Logan and Smithfield, and that [400 East] isn't meant to accommodate it," Kooyman said.

Morse added that it "will help get people from North Logan to Sky View [High School] on a much better road."

Potter says he would really like to see something happen with the road at some point. "You can get from point A to point B, but it's not the road we want," he said. What he hopes will happen is that the county officials will step up and get the community together, so that they can do something that will benefit the whole county.

"In the future I think it's got to happen -- and it will happen," Potter said.

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