AM Headlines — 3/20/09

27 comments on this post so far. Add yours!

• 

  toadman on March 20 at 8:53 a.m.

  “Should the state close the Highway 95 intersections @ Canfield & Bosanko?”

  No… change them all to roundabouts. We need more roundabouts. They weed out the stupid.

• 

  coeurgenx on March 20 at 9:06 a.m.

  this is a great idea.. For once I agree with the state.

• 

  BigMac on March 20 at 9:07 a.m.

  The Canfield intersection is very busy with all the traffic going in to Target etc. How will cars get in there? Through the mall?

• 

  Rosalind on March 20 at 9:31 a.m.

  Not only Target, but that whole shopping area including Borders, TJMaxx, PandaExpress, etc… - this could be very bad for all those businesses right there.

  Taking out these intersections probably wouldn’t speed up traffic THAT much anyway.

• 

  marmitetoasty on March 20 at 9:56 a.m.

  Toadman…… YOU took the words right out me mouth….. I was gonna say change them to roundabouts like we have over here, the traffic flows much more quicker then it does with junctions….

  and…

  Have you noticed in that photo that everyone is driving on the wrong side of the road…… HOW DANGEROUS :)

  x

• 

  marmitetoasty on March 20 at 9:58 a.m.

  In Waterlooville (about 3 miles from me, which at rush hour can be very busy, there are 3 roundabouts within 300 metres of each other and there is hardly ever a hold up….

  just saying :)

  x

• 

  toadman on March 20 at 10:03 a.m.

  Roundabouts are one of Britain’s finest exports!

• 

  Charlie on March 20 at 10:12 a.m.

  Once you get accustomed to a roundabout(traffic circle), they are fun. Back in New Jersey they have a lot of them, much larger than the one we have here. Traffic does move right along. The cops didn’t think it was funny for us kids to see how fast we could get around them. No sense of humor. The challenge is still out there.

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  toadman on March 20 at 10:15 a.m.

  That’s true Charlie.. there’s a roundabout near my house in Spokane.. sometimes, just to amuse the kids, I make a point to go through it on the way home, and generally circle it about four times before deciding which exit to take.. this seems to bother other drivers, but I’m ok with that.

• 

  JeanieSpokane on March 20 at 10:20 a.m.

  I like roundabouts. There is a great movie called “Once Around” with Richard Dreyfuss. Once Around refers to going once around the roundabout, and sometimes twice if you’re in the mood. Four times would make me dizzy and I’d probably run off into someone’s flower bed.

• 

  Indy on March 20 at 12:16 p.m.

  Hey DFO, this thread is inaccurate. The proposal is to “remove the stoplights” at those intersections, and to restrict some movements in the unsignalized intersections. No intersectoins are proposed for closure.

  Essentially, all traffic movement will be allowed if you are traveling north or south on 95. You just won’t have to wait for a light to turn left on Bonsanko or Canfield.

  However, if you are traveling east or west on Canfield or Bonsanko, you will only be able to turn right to get back onto 95 at those intersections. You will not be able to cross 95 or turn left onto 95 at the unsignailized intersections.

  The reason they are proposing this is that those two lights are on a quarter-mile spacing, while all of the other signals are on a half-mile spacing. In order to syncronize the lights and increase the green times on signalized cross streets, those two lights would have to be removed.

  Access to businesses along the entire corridor was a serious consideration in this study. Both of those light removal projects are just a small part of the overall package of projects that will be necessary to improve the access to the business there.

  For instance, the light at Canfield will not be removed until Wilbur is connected between 95 and Government way, and a new signal is installed at that intersection, which is on a half-mile spacing. A new north/south interior access road will also be built to connect Wilbur and Canfeild immediately to the east of Michaels and that phones plus/postnet building. It’s already half built. Similar interior network improvements are being planned for the Bonsanko intersection as well.

  There is a whole lot of misinformation out there concerning this study. So our agency, the Kootenai Metroplitan Planning Organization (KMPO), has been talking with Mike Kennedy to potentially hold another open house and explain the entire project.

  In total, there are 35 changes being proposed at a cost of $6.7 million. The pay off is a 70% imporvement in the efficiency of the entire transportation network between I-90 and Highway 53 to the north and south, and between Ramsey Road and Government Way to the east and west.

  Here is a direct link to the Highway 95 access study findings: http://www.kmpo.net/us95access-study2.html

  DFO, I know the Spokeman is doing a story, but I couldn’t find the link on todays website…has it been published yet?

• 

  Indy on March 20 at 12:24 p.m.

  Oh, and I forgot to mention, this proposal has Larry Spencer’s seal of approval! No kidding. It is the alternative that he selected very early in the process.

• 

  DFO on March 20 at 12:30 p.m.

  Jeff; thanx for the correction. I was blogging at the speed of light this morning — and tossed up the question without thinking it completely through. Obviously, you can’t close those intersections. But you can affect cross and turn traffic by pulling the signals. I’ve rephrased the question. Thanks for jumping in.

• 

  Indy on March 20 at 12:41 p.m.

  My pleasure DFO, and thanks for the fix…

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