Crowded Corners New Study Shows Valley Drivers Can Expect Longer Delays At Many Intersections As Development Puts More Cars Into The Traffic System

Think the wait at Interstate 90’s Pines Road interchange is bad?

Just wait.

If no major changes are made to the Spokane Valley’s transportation system, in five years there could be a total of 25 intersections that receive the same “F” rating as the Pines Road interchange.

Valley commuters know it’s an ugly scene.

“The lights aren’t coordinated,” said Pete Covella, who travels through the Pines Road interchange every weekday. “The east-bound off-ramp light only lets about three to four cars go, then you have 10 more backed up behind them.”

The Spokane Regional Transportation Council announced the findings of its Spokane Valley transportation study this month. The study projected that if all of the currently approved residential real estate projects here were built, 11 intersections would be considered failures within five years.

To date, the home-construction pipeline includes 6,431 single-family dwellings and 342 multifamily dwellings that have received final plat approval but have not been built. Another 3,017 single-family dwellings are in the preliminary stage of plat approval. There are also another 4,642 single-family homes and 820 multifamily dwellings planned by developers.

If all the currently proposed but yet-to-be-approved subdivisions were built, a whopping 25 intersections would get an “F.”

An “F” rating is given to any intersection where commuters have to wait longer than 60 seconds during peak afternoon rush times. Currently the Valley has only three such spots - Sprague and Park, Broadway and Park, and the eastbound portions of I-90’s Pines Road interchange.

The study also concluded that:

Significant growth is forecast for the Spokane Valley.

If that growth occurs, serious transportation system problems will be the likely result.

Planning for growth in the Spokane Valley should include major traffic improvements.

“Currently, (Valley intersections) are functioning fairly well,” said Bill Bennett, senior transportation planner at the SRTC. But even 11 failed intersections would be too many, he said.

And 11 is the conservative figure - assuming none of the as-yet unapproved subdivisions are built.

Those level-of-service ratings don’t have to do with traffic volume. A heavily-traveled road isn’t necessarily going to cause big congestion problems. Jams occur when intersections aren’t designed to handle the large load.

“Intersections are a transportation system’s control point,” Bennett said. “You can get fairly good movement on the arterials, but the intersections really determine how well your system functions overall.”

If an area’s intersections don’t work, its whole scheme of traffic flow falls apart.

The Washington Department of Transportation asked the SRTC to do the study last summer. State DOT officials were initially concerned just with congestion on Pines, but the scope of the study grew.

According to state transportation planner Greg Figg, Pines carries about 38,000 cars per day - just 1,000 fewer than North Division Street did before it was improved. Now, Division is busier only on its six-lane stretch north of Francis Avenue.

Figg said what makes Pines such a mess is the amount of traffic jammed into just a few lanes.

“It’s very busy for a four-lane roadway,” he said.

And it’s grown considerably. Al Gilson, a DOT spokesman, said traffic on Pines increased 52 percent between 1985 and 1992.

Although the SRTC study projected future snafus, Figg said the Pines and I-90 interchange is already a big enough problem.

The state is currently conducting a study to find ways to fix the interchange. One option is joining the two parallel bridges that take Pines over I-90, creating another lane.

That won’t fix the rest of the Valley’s anticipated traffic woes, though. The SRTC study didn’t take into account any of the proposed commercial developments, such as the Spokane Valley Mall. Bennett said a more comprehensive study, including commercial impact on traffic, will begin in September.

What can be done to avoid the traffic nightmare?

Bennett said the SRTC is looking at signal optimization as one fix. That means studying traffic light timing to make sure cars on busy streets don’t have to stop too long. If a low-density road intersects with a busy one, that road’s green-phase shouldn’t be very long, Bennett said.

Other options include widening I-90 or even a light-rail system.

The only certain thing, though, is that a bandage won’t do it.

“The solution is not going to be a magic bullet or anything like that,” Bennett said. “It’s going to consist of a mix of things.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: 2 Photos (1 Color); Graphic: Congested intersections

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: HANSON BUILDING FIVE-LANE ROAD FOR MALL ACCESS Some steps are already being taken to prepare for the arrival of the Spokane Valley Mall and Sullivan Park Center. Hanson Industries is building a five-lane extension to Indiana Avenue. That road will have four traffic lanes and one turn lane. It will connect Pines Road and Sullivan Road. The Indiana extension should be completed this fall, or by spring of 1996 at the latest. The state requires developers who build next to Interstate 90 to provide some kind of commuter alternative. “Interstate highways are not to be used as commuter highways,” said Mike Taylor of Taylor Engineering, the lead engineering firm involved with the project. “When you’re in the middle of a community, it’s hard to get people to do that, especially when there are no alternatives.” Taylor’s firm has begun its own study to find out just how well its five-lane alternative will work. Taylor said that study should be complete in four to five weeks. Currently, that stretch of I-90 is very busy. State DOT spokesman Al Gilson said 59,000 cars per day use I-90 where it passes Pines. Where it passes Sullivan, the freeway carries 45,000 cars daily. Taylor won’t know how much traffic Indiana will carry - or can carry - until his firm’s study is complete. The study will help determine what, if any, other measures will have to be taken to provide mall access. And as of yet, there is no final word on the size of the mall. The state DOT has estimated that the Spokane Valley Mall will generate between 23,000 and 27,000 car trips per day. Indiana and any other traffic-reduction projects must be able to handle such volumes. Ward Sanderson