Studs unfairly maligned

It must be spring. The weather is warmer, the flowers are blooming and the biannual pastime of bashing studded tires continues for another season.

Now, don’t get me wrong, Spokanites enjoy a good kvetch. Who am I to deny them of that? But it’s May. I was willing to let sleeping tire-haters lie until the issue was dredged up, so here we go again.

Being from Idaho, I’d just like to point something out. Idaho permits studs for two months longer than Washington. So if there were a true correlation between bad roads and studs, you’d think Idaho roads would be virtually nonexistent by now. Yet it’s downtown Spokane that appears to have suffered an orbital bombardment (Monroe/Lincoln anyone?), not downtown Coeur d’Alene.

I don’t need a state border sign; I can feel the difference, mainly because I’m not falling into those mineshafts the Washington Department of Transportation laughingly calls potholes. In fairness, Idaho probably has fewer drivers and more four-wheel-drive vehicles. But there’s no denying that the roads are better in a state with increased studded tire usage.

Seems like the studs aren’t the cause. So can we put the issue to rest? At least until November?

Chris Reichert

Athol