"Pathway on Bullion looks fantastic, and Hop Porter park looks great." That is how the Hailey City Council's September 14, 2026 minutes record Council Member Kaz Thea's staff-report comment. In the same entry, the public works director said the primary contractor should be done the following week, with pavers to Main Street finishing that week.
By late October the four blocks of West Bullion Street between Main Street and Hop Porter Park look close to finished. The pieces still missing are the ones the project was originally sold on. The early drawings showed benches and public art as stopping points along the way to the park, and both have been held back until the agency paying for the project knows how much money is left. This winter the path will have its pavement, its new plantings and a place on the snow-clearing list, and little else. Whether it becomes a place to linger is a budget question for the coming months.
What actually went in along West Bullion
The Phase 1 design splits the north side of the street into four sections, according to the Idaho Mountain Express's report on the May 19, 2026 Hailey Urban Renewal Agency meeting, where landscape architect Mark Sindell of the design firm GGLO gave an update.
| Section | Path width | Planting |
|---|---|---|
| Main Street to about halfway toward River Street | 12 feet, against property lines | 8-foot tree and planting strip |
| Midblock to just past the parking lot at River and Bullion | 12 feet, against property lines | 6-foot tree and planting strip |
| River Street lot to Hop Porter Park, residential | 12 feet | 8-foot strip along the street, 4-foot strip along property lines |
| Hop Porter Park frontage | 8 feet | 6-foot strip plus a 2-foot setback for the perpendicular parking |
The trees changed during design. An Express story on the agency's earlier public workshop described a path lined with pale-yellow flowering Japanese tree lilacs. The final plan calls for disease-resistant hybrid elms from Main Street to Hop Porter Park and honey locusts along the park frontage. Sindell said the choices were vetted over several meetings with the Hailey Tree Committee. The Express listed the groundcover as May Night salvia, echinacea, blue oak grass and cat mint, which Sindell said would be "really nice for pollinators and for people year round."
At the far end, the renovation of Hop Porter Park's stage covered a new roof, support structure and concrete wall, at about $250,000. By the May 19 meeting the wall was installed and roof work was underway. Sindell told the Express the stage should be ready for the 2026 Hailey Rocks series, which Sawtooth Brewery lists as Thursday shows at the park from June 25 through August 20.
Why the street was rebuilt for walkers first
The goal was spelled out before construction began. Hailey's downtown master plan called for the path so more people could safely walk or bike to Hop Porter Park, the Carbonate trailhead and Lions Park, according to an Express account of the agency's design presentation. Sindell's case at that meeting was blunt. "There is not really a safe and enjoyable way to get to Hop Porter Park and Hailey Rocks," he said. "People who would normally walk or bike are driving, because who wants to walk along a dusty gravel road with cars [speeding]?"
The project went through a name change on the way. It began as the Bullion Promenade until Thea asked for something simpler, and Sindell said "promenade" had drawn comments that it sounded "too pretentious for Hailey."
The city's own summary of the project still lists more than a path. Its "Bullion Pathway Basics" sheet says the project is made of "pavers, art, lights, trees, planting, benches and pedestrian amenities." Two items on that list are the ones still waiting.
Where the money went, and where it stopped
Early estimates were much higher than what was eventually bid. Before construction, the Express reported Phase 1A, from Main to River, at about $450,000 and Phase 1B, from River to Hop Porter Park, at up to $1.85 million. By April 2026, the low construction bids for all of Phase 1 added up to $827,748: American Vac Services at $474,959 for civil and site work, and Clearwater Landscaping at $138,881 for planting and irrigation and $213,908 for pavers.
The April 21, 2026 agency packet set the full project budget:
- About $201,718 in costs already incurred
- $827,748 in low construction bids
- $200,000 in contingency
- About $250,000 in projected future eligible costs
- A cap on agency participation of $1,479,466 unless both the city and the agency agree to amend it
The same packet projected that the agency would have about $320,000 left after all known project and operating costs, River Street improvements included. The source of those funds is a $3 million revenue-allocation bond, which the Express reported as the project's primary funding.
The amenities slipped in June. At the agency's May 19 meeting, staff reported that art bids had been reviewed and that they would recommend Trademark for the work "if/when funding is available." Furnishings had not been ordered and would "be considered when funding is available." During a July 21 site visit, the board heard that the project was now using the $250,000 set aside, and that "artwork component will be revisited over the winter when remaining funds are known."
The agency's October 20, 2026 packet puts a number on what is left. As of September 30, 2026, staff estimate combined Bullion Pathway and River Street costs at $1,745,933. The packet asks the board to consider three payments to the city, the largest being $1,179,134.45 under the City/Agency Agreement approved April 21. Staff calculate that $198,613.82 will remain in the project budget after those payments, and that the agency's total remaining funds at the end of fiscal year 2026 are $438,713.33. That "Bullion Pathway/River Street Cost Summary" was on that meeting's agenda as an action item, and the next meeting is listed for November 17, 2026.
How the year ran, in order
- April 21: The agency approves Resolution 2026-002 and the City/Agency Agreement that fund the pathway.
- May 19: The stage wall is up and roof work is underway. River Street work is wrapping up, flower baskets are due mid-June, and crews are sourcing cottonwood snags. Trees for the River-to-Main stretch are expected in the fall.
- July 21: Staff report 45 working days to finish the Main-to-River section, with a goal of being close to final in September. Trees are expected in late September or early October.
- September 14: The council hears that the primary contractor should be done the following week.
- September 30: The largest reimbursement, $1,179,134.45, is invoiced.
- October 20: The cost summary goes on the agency's agenda.
Snow clearing arrives before the benches
The design commits to more than the summer photos show. The city's project sheet says the path "will be cleared of snow in the winter from Main to Hop Porter Park" and will be maintained in the "high priority" category. The July site-visit minutes note that snow removal operations had been reviewed. The same sheet describes the route as a way for families to walk or bike to Hop Porter Park "and out Croy Canyon." That makes the path a winter connection west of downtown, with the elms in their first season and the planting strips dormant.
The south side of the street stays as it was. On the city's January 20, 2026 construction-update layout, south-side improvements are marked "Pending Funding." In the earlier Express account, Sindell estimated a second phase at around $2 million. It would repeat the path and plantings on the south side and might continue over the Bullion bridge. Agency members speculated that the bond proceeds might be used up by then, and Sindell put any completion at "2027 or later."
That leaves two items open for the winter: the $198,613.82 that staff expect to remain in the project budget, and an art contract that staff have already reviewed. Agency meetings are public, and the November 17 agenda is where the next decision is likely to appear.
Jordan Jadallah follows Hailey Urban Renewal Agency and council agendas as part of advising sellers, buyers and developers on downtown Hailey property. If you own near West Bullion or are weighing a parcel along the route, schedule a free consultation to go over what the pathway has already changed on your block and what the agency still has to decide.
