Of 70 streets in the borough, only 15 of them comply with code.

The Haines Borough Planning Commission and staff are beginning to tackle how to prioritize upgrades and maintenance for the remaining 55 streets.

A special workshop to discuss prioritization strategy was scheduled earlier this month in a planning commission meeting, when staff requested approval of a project to upgrade Mathias Avenue.

“The problem that we have in our community is that somehow, some way, in the city– now the borough– roads were not built to code,” borough manager Debra Schnabel said at the Nov. 14 planning commission meeting. “And the question is: who’s going to fix it?”

Staff proposed prioritizing Mathias Avenue road upgrades that overlap with a $62,000 water main improvement project slated for the next construction season.

“The biggest thing about Matthias is that the beginning is not in the right of way, it’s on private property land,” public facilities director Ed Coffland said. “We don’t want to put the water line on someone else’s property, since we have a plan in there to install a water system to improve connectivity. We want to put that pipe in the right of way so it’d be nice if, while were doing that, we put the road over there, too.”

Like many streets in the Haines Borough, Mathias fails to meet road standards in its width, lack of a cul-de-sac, and grade.

Coffland said that while it’d be expensive to bring Mathias up to code specifications, one possible solution is to purchase a plot on the road to build a cul-de-sac on, then vacate the rest of the right of way to the property owners.

Instead of pushing the Mathias project, commissioners unanimously agreed to a workshop to discuss a vetting process for road priorities in the borough.

“I’d feel much better about the process if we had an idea of where the problem areas are and then had vetted it through some process, or just acknowledged criteria that we’re prioritizing,” commissioner Jess Kayser Forester said.

At the workshop Thursday, Coffland presented a spreadsheet made by public works supervisor Will Hickman that notes each road’s length, width, surface, and needed improvements. The chart also defines streets into category one, two or three based on how many residences each serves.

“Not many of our streets actually meet our code,” Coffland said.

Kayser Forester proposed asking staff to come up with criteria that will help them decide how to prioritize road reconstruction.

“Things like, how much traffic does it have? Does it have any particular risks?” The criteria will help staff prioritize which roads to rebuild first in next year’s capital improvement project budget,” Coffland said.

Commissioners Diana Lapham and Don Turner Jr. agreed that Mathias Avenue will likely rise to the top of the list.

“I think since were doing a water improvement project, we ought to put (the road) where it goes otherwise, we’re right back where we started,” Turner said.

Commissioners vetoed the idea of vacating land, and requested a second conceptual design for bringing Mathias Avenue up to standard. Coffland said the design should be ready next month.

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