SANDPOINT — Two donations to Bonner County are set to expand winter biking and strolling opportunities, in addition to preserving safety at an intersection on South Sagle Road.

North Idaho Bikeways, the nonprofit which established the popular network of pathways linking Sandpoint, Sagle and Dover, has offered to donate a snowblower implement to open up the trail at opportune times during the winter.

“We have several times over the last couple of years tried to open up the bike trail in late winter so that people have a place to get around and walk around safely in Sagle. People do use it,” said Steve Klatt, director of Bonner County Road & Bridge.

However, the county lacked the equipment to mount the snowblower on at the time the snowblower suggestion first surfaced. That changed on Tuesday, when commissioners approved the purchase of a Caterpillar skid steer forklift for road District 1. Its primary role would be to assist with road projects, especially ones where working conditions are cramped.

The $48,000 262D Cat can lift high enough to deposit material into dump trucks and can commute between shops, unlike the current forklift, which is apparently going down faster than a busted elevator.

“This forklift barely runs. It’s almost impossible to move from one shop to the other, particularly in any kind of weather whether it be rain or winter weather,” Klatt told commissioners on Tuesday.

Bonner County’s maintenance and clearing responsibilities on the path extend from Sagle to the city limits of Sandpoint. Sandpoint, Klatt said, has been known to try and keep the trails open at points during the winter so people have a safe place to walk during breaks in the weather.

The other donation received by the county comes from the family of the late Bob Jacobson. Klatt had been discussing purchasing the property with Jacobson prior to his death to keep it from being redeveloped in order to preserve lines of sight for motorists turning from South Sagle Road to Sagle Road.

“It’s a tough place to see around. The corner sweeps and you really cannot see very well, so if anyone ever built in there it would really create a blind spot at that intersection,” said Klatt.

Klatt said Jacobson’s three children generously offered to donate $10,000 toward the county’s acquisition. The county, using funds from a trust donated by the estate of Harp Turnbull, completed the acquisition with $30,000.

“It was a nice contribution. I appreciated it and thought it was thoughtful of the family,” said Klatt.

Keith Kinnaird can be reached by email at kkinnaird@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow him on Twitter @KeithDailyBee.