Spokane7
48°
February 23, 2010 in Opinion
Grant stokes jobs, dreams of efficient traffic flow
As a concept, the North Spokane Corridor is nearly at the equivalent of retirement age, having first been dreamed up some 64 years ago.
As an actuality, however, it’s still in its developmental stages. It’s beginning to get on its feet and walk, and those early steps are rewarding to watch.
The $35 million in federal stimulus spending that authorities announced last week will provide 3.7 miles of southbound lanes between Francis Avenue and Farwell Road. When that stretch is finished next year, about a third of the 10.5-mile link between Interstate 90 and U.S. 395 near Wandermere will be finished.
What will become the northbound lanes were opened to traffic in a two-way configuration last summer.
While completing the corridor will require another $1.6 billion of funding – to include the challenging and costly crossing of the Spokane River at the south end – the notion of having nearly four miles of the long-debated corridor so near to readiness is exhilarating for transportation planners in this area.
Officials have tabulated about 225,000 daily north-south movements of cars and trucks in Spokane, all of it through the city’s neighborhoods and business districts. Such a dangerous, time-consuming, air-polluting, traffic-congesting and sometimes nerve-racking exercise in inefficiency.
The movement of people and freight should be and can be handled more smoothly. And once the full, limited-access route is open, truckers will reduce to minutes the time it takes them to travel between I-90 and U.S. 395, the pathway to and from Canada. More than 7 million tons of freight moves along the corridor every year.
That will save shippers both time and money while freeing Spokane motorists from avoidable traffic congestion and relieving much of the 2.4 million pounds of carbon dioxide generated when the large rigs creep from intersection to intersection and sometimes tie up traffic through multiple signal changes while they navigate their semis through tight turns.
Meanwhile, the construction funding also means an estimated 106 jobs during the peak of activity. That’s a welcome bonus anytime, but especially in a harsh recession. But in the long term, it’s the transportation value of the North Spokane Corridor that has kept it in the community’s imagination for more than a generation. It’s exciting to see dreams being fulfilled, even a step at a time.
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ChefGus/ John Olsen on February 23 at 2:36 a.m.
The new “corridor” is to pass right by the Spokane Community College on its way to meet the South Bound Corridor, which no one is talking about that is to come across Moran Prarie, Ferris High School by Way of Freya and down the hill to near Fred Meyer’s for the connection at I-90.
I believe that trucks moving now do NOT have the option of city streets.. ie Maple, Monroe,Division, Hamilton.. so there is NOT a problem with noise and polution in the city alluded to by your editorial i believe.
I don’t see a lot of long haul trucks moving north and south in Spokane, and i regularly take all of the above routes every week.The new corridor that is available is almost impossible to find . You must go East Bound on Francis toward Bigelow Gulch and take a left turn at an unmarked light just as you cross over the rail yard and go north to a round about that is also unmarked till you get there….
The corridor does save time.. but only for me on a a trip from Spokane Community College to Fairwood at Mead to see my mother. otherwise the 124 express bus from downtown makes the transit as quickly ( by speeding) up Monroe mornings and evenings, with a computer link… Perhaps… perhaps there are better ways to move people than cars.. john
JBlim on February 23 at 6:48 a.m.
Perhaps the money would have been better spent to start a light rail system. Traffic congestion in Spokane is not really a problem.
ChefGus/ John Olsen on February 23 at 7:53 a.m.
we have been workking on it for years… and there is a corridor along with the freeway being built..
http://www.inlandrail.org/ take a look and join us.. gus
twobit on February 23 at 8:12 a.m.
people dont use the bus system why would they use the train or light rail as you say and the north south freeway is done they will just connect the biglow road to it and have all traffic go to sullivan and I-90 thats what is in works right now
JBlim on February 23 at 6:01 p.m.
Actually, people do use the bus system, which you would know if you used it. Buses are heavily used for commuting in the mornings and evening. People see empty buses at 2:30 PM and conclude they are never used. Light rail is nothing like a train. Light rail is extremely quiet and doesn’t rumble the ground for blocks in every direction. Some people don’t like the bus because they aren’t always seats available. Light rail can add extra cars as needed to accommodate everyone. Take Portland as an example. The light rail is packed. It is free in the downtown area. You can fly to Portland and take the rail to downtown. Light rail doesn’t increase our dependence on foreign oil and helps reduce greenhouse gases. And really, when will they ever synchronize the traffic lights on Division? Maybe they have, I have learned to avoid Division like the plague.
Hank_Tingler on February 24 at 11:17 a.m.
They should have built an elevated freeway above Division where the traffic mess exists instead of way out in the boonies where they have recorded 1000 vehicle trips a day.
Could you imagine a green zone with bicycle lanes all the way from the Y to downtown?