Bypass Will Mar Sand Creek’s Charm

By ERIC DAARSTAD

Do you remember when we first came to Sandpoint? It was the typical small American town. There was Taft’s, a 5 & 10 cent store on first Ave. There were drugstores, a shoe store, J.C. Penney and Sprouse-Reitz. There was the Garden Restaurant.

After we had lived here a while, do you remember how we used to go downtown to shop and how you met so many people that you knew. Everybody said hello and chatted about the weather, the kids and who got married and who died.

Do you remember going down to the beach and seeing kids swinging on a rope into Sand Creek on a warm summer’s day? You heard their laughter and their screams of joy when they swung on that rope over the water. You watched as a couple in a canoe paddled it silently up Sand Creek.

Do you remember sitting on the deck of the Garden Restaurant for a quiet lunch, only to be interrupted occasionally by a passing train which was more of a treat than a interruption? Later on when the Garden was gone, we could still sit on the deck of Spuds or in the little garden behind Sand Creek Grill where sometimes they had a classical guitarist playing enchanting, quiet pieces of music.

Do you remember going to Concerts on the Lawn in July and listening to a small musical ensemble playing wonderful music while you watched the kids playing in the water and sailboats trying to catch some wind out on the lake. The only additional sounds were of kids enjoying themselves, the cry of a seagull or, again, the occasional passing train.

Do you remember when we could walk through the Cedar Street Bridge and across to the old railroad depot and look in the window at the old benches in the waiting room, so empty and quiet compared to what it must have been many years ago? Then we could stand there and look across the tracks at the old houses that had been there since the beginning of Sandpoint and the beautiful lake and mountains beyond. In the distance we could here the sounds of a train pass until it disappeared into the distance and the only remaining sounds were a distant train whistle and the rustle of leaves in the stately old trees that used to stand there.

Do you remember walking along the boardwalk on Sand Creek and admiring the boats moored in the marina, especially all the wooden boats when they had the big Wooden Boat show each summer?

Do you remember six years ago when the started construction of the Sand Creek Byway? We didn’t go downtown so much any more only if we had to. If we went to Spuds to have lunch we had to sit inside because it was so noisy. Besides that, who wants to sit and look at trucks, construction machinery and dust while you are trying to enjoy a meal?

A year later there started to be more and more “For Rent” signs in the windows downtown. Because they didn’t have enough visitors coming from out of town, Coldwater Creek closed their retail business on the Cedar Street bridge. The Concerts on the Lawn and the Summer Sounds that had been happening for many years were discontinued. All the trees along Sand Creek were cut down and now they were dumping tons of dirt into Sand Creek. The traffic trying to get into and through downtown was worse than ever.

They finally finished it last year but we still don’t go downtown much. There isn’t much there anymore except for a few real estate offices. Most of the businesses moved out to Ponderay so we go out there to shop. Ponderay has grown a lot, but it is just a bunch of strip malls, just like any other strip mall anywhere in the world.

Spuds is still here but if you want to sit on the deck in the summer, the noise from the traffic makes it impossible to enjoy a quiet conversation. You cannot stand on Bridge Street anymore to watch the kids swing into Sand Creek on the rope because the tree and the rope are gone.

The quiet beauty of Sand Creek is gone forever, replaced by a noisy highway. Our real estate taxes have skyrocketed because Sandpoint is turning into a mostly residential town and many businesses aren’t there anymore, to help shoulder part of the tax burden. Most visitors who come to town stay up at Schweitzer or in places around the lake.

The beautiful lake and mountains are still there, but the town and the feel of it has changed.

We are too old now to find another place to move to, but why did we let this happen? Why did our elected officials and business leaders let it happen and why was there nobody among them who had a vision of what Sandpoint could have become if we hadn’t put a freeway right through the very heart of it?

Now the ITD is talking about doing a Westside bypass because the Sand Creek bypass is no longer adequate. The estimated cost is $250 million.

Sometimes we sit down in front of our large television screen and put a DVD in the player. Eight years ago they made a film about Sandpoint and its history that was called “Sandpoint - At the North End of the Long Bridge”. It brings back so many memories and reminds us of what Sandpoint used to be like.

Eric Daarstad

A long term resident of Sandpoint, Eric Daarstad is the cinematographer who directed and produced the centennial film “Sandpoint - At the North End of the Long Bridge” released in 2002.

This opinion piece appeared in the Daily Bee, the Spokesman Review and The River Journal.