Apartment Foes See 3-Car Crash As Ironic Omen

A three-car collision Monday in one of two narrow tunnels leading to Spokane’s controversial Mission Springs apartment project came as no surprise to neighbors.

“I hold my breath and say a little prayer when going through those tunnels,” said Sue Gaebe, who drives Thorpe Road and its tunnels every day.

The collision occurred just hours before the city’s traffic department told the City Council the tunnels could safely handle additional traffic created by the project.

“It’s a hell of an irony,” Councilman Chris Anderson said Tuesday.

An accident report blames excessive speed for the collision which sent two people to Sacred Heart Medical Center with minor injuries.

While speed may have been the culprit, neighbors of the project say the city ultimately will be responsible if accidents at the tunnels increase after 790 apartments are built.

“It seems like this will only be creating more problems,” said Gaebe, who tried unsuccessfully, with about 15 neighbors, to convince the council to stop the project.

By a 4-1 vote Monday, the council cleared the way for construction permits for the apartment complex.

In June, council members blocked the permits so the impact on the tunnels could be studied.

While the tunnels are “narrow, obviously undesirable and present a significant traffic constraint,” they shouldn’t delay the project, the traffic study says.

Saying he isn’t satisfied with the traffic report, Councilman Orville Barnes cast the dissenting vote.

Anderson abstained, and Coun cilman Mike Brewer was absent.

Pete Powell, a north Spokane resident who owns property along Thorpe Road, called the report “grossly inaccurate.”

Powell paraded before the council a stack of documents he had gathered from traffic officials.

“Frankly, this is a life-and-death matter,” Powell said.

Don Ramsey, the city traffic engineer who wrote the study, said Tuesday he didn’t argue that the tunnels aren’t deficient. But his calculations show Mission Springs won’t make conditions worse.

The council’s lifting of a ban on construction permits doesn’t necessarily clear away all roadblocks.

At least two lawsuits involving the project could pose more delays, said Pat Dalton, a city attorney.

, DataTimes