Pressure Mounts To Alter Intersection City Council Twice Rejected Changes To Make Lincoln-Northwest Area Safer

Twice in the last decade this city considered - and rejected - routing traffic around the intersection where a teenage girl died last month.

A traffic safety committee in 1985 and again in 1992 recommended making Lincoln Way a one-way street south of Northwest Boulevard, according to city records. To the north it wanted Lincoln Way shut down.

The City Council vetoed the suggestions each time.

“They just didn’t want to do it,” said Councilwoman Dixie Reid, who supported both measures.

Although the intersection was considered among the worst in the city, neighboring businesses and Fort Ground residents did not want to lose access to the boulevard - a main thoroughfare through the city.

Family, friends and colleagues of 18-yearold Jennifer Stokes say that argument will work no longer.

“I think the lives of people are more important,” said Debbie King, her mother. “There are a lot of one-way streets in this town.”

The 10-year-old solution is expected to surface again at 7 a.m. April 12 in City Hall when engineers outline alternatives for fixing the intersection. The meeting was scheduled before Stokes’ death.

City officials expect a large crowd. Stokes’ friends say they will do whatever it takes to make the intersection safe.

“You’ve just got to decide this is your banner to carry and you don’t stop until something is done,” said Michael Murphy, parent of a soccer teammate of Stokes’.

Stokes died March 26 following an accident at Lincoln Way and Northwest Boulevard. Her car was hit by an oncoming delivery van as she pulled north onto the boulevard from Lincoln Way.

She was headed from class at North Idaho College to her job at Burger King.

There have been 34 accidents at the intersection in four years.

About 15,000 drivers pass through it daily - far less than on other stretches of the boulevard - but its corners are sharp and it slopes like a mountain pass.

“It’s like coming out of a tunnel,” said City Councilman Kevin Packard, who drives past the intersection daily.

The problem of how to fix that “tunnel” was put on the back burner in 1992, so city staff members could research permanent options. Those include:

Close Lincoln Way. It would eliminate turns, but would make Mullan Avenue the only entrance into NIC and Fort Ground.

Reduce lower Lincoln Way to one-way heading south and make the upper portion one-way to the north. That would get rid of the most troubling turns, but limits exits from Fort Ground.

Install a traffic light. That would stop traffic, but would not eliminate difficult turns. It would cost about $250,000.

Connect Garden Avenue from Fort Ground to the Kootenai County Courthouse as an alternative to Lincoln Way. Engineers have said it may be the best option, but would take time. No cost estimates are available.

Packard said he wants to see a solution within the next month.

“I will follow it through until something gets done,” he said.

NIC students and administrators are lobbying city officials. College grant writers are looking for money to help - even though responsibility lies with the city, not them.

“There’s sort of a moral imperative because of the danger to our students and faculty,” said Steve Schenk, dean of college relations.