Light rail proponents resurface

Voters may have thought that light rail was dealt its death blow when two related propositions failed last November, but supporters are hoping it’s a phoenix that can rise from the ashes.

They’ve started a new grass-roots group called Friends of Rail Transit to spread the word about light rail and push leaders to take steps to make it a reality.

“You’ve got a group of people who’ve worked many years on a project they believe in and are reluctant to let go because we really do believe it’s the right thing,” said member Phyllis Holmes.

Many of those involved in FORT, including Holmes, were on Spokane Transit’s light rail steering committee, so even though the group is new, members can tap a large well of knowledge about the project, Holmes said.

While Spokane Transit took the lead on studying a light-rail line between Liberty Lake and downtown Spokane the last go-round, it’s not involved this time. That means FORT will eventually need to find some other governmental entity to take on light rail and handle the financial end of any project.

That could be Spokane, Spokane County or even a new port district, Holmes said.

FORT has been meeting for about four months, said member Bart Haggin.

Haggin believes the light-rail questions on the November 2006 ballot were confusing and there wasn’t enough time to educate voters about what they meant. Both factors contributed to their failure, he said.

“We feel that by getting the word out, light-rail transit can become a reality,” he said.

More information about FORT is available at www.friendsofrailtransit.org.

For better or for worse

A wedding dress is probably the most unusual item that an Idaho Transportation Department worker has found on a highway, but it sure is a lot better than the usual array of cigarette butts, fast-food bags and urine-filled pop bottles.

Thanks to a determined ITD employee, though, this wedding dress may have found its owner.

Jim Cherry found the sleeveless wedding gown in a keepsake box earlier this month along Interstate 84 between Meridian and Nampa. Cherry couldn’t find the owner by contacting bridal shops, but when he put the word out in the media last week a man called saying it might be his wife’s dress, lost during a move.

Looks like Cherry got one husband out of the doghouse.

29th Avenue update

Folks on Moran Prairie are wondering what’s up with a 29th Avenue road closure west of Glenrose.

Signs said the work would be done by the end of July, but it’s still going.

The delay was caused because an old gas line was located too shallowly and needs to be lowered, said Mark Zarecor, the city of Spokane’s development services manager.

The road is supposed to reopen before school starts, he said.

Don’t expect much in the way of improvements, though. Sidewalks and curbs won’t be added until a later phase in the neighboring development.

Pre-driving breath tests

National Highway Traffic Safety Administrator Nicole Nason urged judges last week to make more repeat DUI offenders use “ignition interlocks” as part of their punishment.

Drivers blow into the devices before turning on the ignition. The car won’t start if the device detects alcohol.

Then again, maybe more jail time or complete loss of driving privileges would work better for repeat offenders.

Anyone who’s seen “The 40-Year-Old Virgin” knows that the ignition interlock can be defeated because it doesn’t know who blows into it.

The sad truth is there are probably parents who have had their kids blow into the ignition interlocks.

Monroe Street blues

Sigh. We all thought that our Monroe Street woes were done once the Interstate 90 viaduct work was finished.

That work, coupled with completion of the bridge project a couple of years ago, meant a straight shot between the freeway and the North Side.

Well, all that’s about to end.

Starting Sept. 4, Monroe Street will be squeezed down to one lane in each direction for two months, just north of the bridge.

The lane closures are part of an Avista project to install better transmission lines for the Kendall Yards development and the West Central Neighborhood.

Avista spokesman Hugh Imhof said the project will take two months because other utilities will be working to extend services through the same area at the same time.

Slow going

I-90

•Eastbound I-90 will be reduced to two lanes near Perry Street from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday for bridge joint work.

•The westbound Hamilton Street on-ramp will be reduced to one lane from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Thursday.

Downtown

•In Browne’s Addition, Second Avenue is closed from Sunset Boulevard to Coeur d’Alene Street. There is no parking along it or on Cannon Street between Pacific and Riverside avenues.

•Riverside Avenue is closed through Tuesday between Hemlock Street and Clarke Avenue.

North Spokane

•Crestline Street is reduced to one lane in each direction from North Foothills Drive/Euclid Avenue to Wellesley Avenue for local access only. Other traffic is being detoured.

•Ash Street is closed from Francis Avenue to Northwest Boulevard.

South Spokane

•The intersection of 29th Avenue and Grand Boulevard will be reduced by two lanes this week.

•Northbound U.S. Highway 195 is reduced to one lane in several places between Spangle and Hatch Road.

•Southeast Boulevard is closed from Perry Street to Fourth Avenue.

Spokane Valley

•Bowdish Road will be closed Tuesday between 40th Avenue and Dishman-Mica Road for utility work.

•Broadway Avenue will be closed between from Moore Street to Conklin Road Sept. 4-21.