COEUR d’ALENE — That massive mountain of soil visible from Seltice Way and beyond is going away.

But it won’t be via the Prairie Trail.

A proposal to temporarily close a section of the trail to move, truckload by truckload, what is locally referred to as Mt. Hink was soundly rejected Tuesday by the Coeur d’Alene City Council.

“This is a big deal, to close the trail,” said Councilwoman Christie Wood.

“We need to be respectful to the impact of people's lives,” she added.

The council unanimously approved a Memorandum of Understanding with the Idaho Transportation Department and ignite cda, the city’s urban renewal agency, for the relocation of soil materials and sawdust from the former Atlas Mill property to the ITD pit at 1475 W. Marie Ave., east of Ramsey Road.

It will be done using city streets. Work is expected to begin later this month and take about four months.

Much of the one-hour discussion focused on the proposal to close the Prairie Trail from roughly the entrance to Atlas Waterfront Park to Golf Course Road near the Kroc Center.

That route would have been easier and less expensive than trucking thousands of cubic yards of material on city streets and dealing with traffic, intersections and stop lights, said Phil Boyd, president of Welch-Comer, an engineering firm.

It would have saved ignite cda about $1 million. The trail route would cost about $4 million, while the streets route will cost about $5 million.

Boyd said Mt. Hink has been growing lately because other pits in the area are being excavated. When it is finally removed, the site could be used for affordable housing, he said.

The soil being hauled away will fill the ITD pit, and that property in turn could be turned into a baseball field, Boyd said. The city would first have to work out a deal with ITD to acquire the property.

Boyd said closing the trail for the project would be the most cost-effective and safest approach. The other route will involve flagging to the tune of at least $100,000, safety fencing and other precautions.

“This detour route is going to add a little bit of complexity to our lives,” he said.

Boyd said they anticipated they would destroy the section of the trail, and Golf Course Road, used for hauling and they would be remediated and repaved.

Wood said she could accept short-term pain for long-term gain, but couldn’t support temporarily closing a section of the Prairie Trail. She said it’s used daily by many people for recreation, Ironman training and walking to catch the Citylink bus.

Councilman Dan English agreed. He said people of all abilities use the trail.

“My main concern is for the trail,” he said.

Tabitha Kraack, executive director of the North Idaho Centennial Trail Foundation, said 20,000 people use the trail monthly in that area.

“The numbers are really high, even in the winter months,” she said.

Rosemary Snedeger of Coeur d'Alene and her poodle, Lily, took a walk on the trail Wednesday.

"We can always come out here even when it's snowing and stuff," Snedeger said. "We still come out here all the time."

Kraack's primary concern is for the Coeur d’Alene Marathon on May 29. Part of the course follows that section of the Prairie Trail, so closing it would mean reconfiguring and then recertifying the course to be a Boston Marathon qualifier.

They are expecting more than 3,000 participants this year in the event which includes a full 26.2-mile marathon, half marathon, 10K and 5K.

“The Coeur d’Alene Marathon is very important to our operating budget,” she said.

Councilman Dan Gookin opposed using the trail for the project.

“I don’t want to see the trail destroyed. I don’t want to see the road destroyed. I don’t want to have to get all the complaints from people,” he said.

Councilman Woody McEvers said they should use city streets, not the trail, to impact the least amount of people.

He said the MOU with ITD to move the mountain of materials was a “great opportunity.

“We help them, they help us. That’s the way government should work," McEvers said.