Readers Rush To Voice Their Opinions On Speeding

On Monday, the City Council shifted gears on a plan to lower many residential speed limits.

On Tuesday, Jane Atwater called “Bagpipes” from her South Hill home.

Rather than lowering speed limits on 60 sections of neighborhood collector streets, as recommended by the traffic department, the council had lowered speeds in only a dozen places and had increased them in 14.

“I had to laugh at Councilman (Mike) Brewer’s comment that four-way stop signs work,” Atwater said. As she talked, she said, two cars ran the four-way stop signs at 37th and Arthur.

Atwater wasn’t the only caller disappointed by the council’s action.

Hank Johnson said he and his neighbors had gone through proper channels to obtain crosswalks and some helpful parking restrictions on Boone from Ash to Summit, but the missing piece is a lower speed limit.

“We’ve had one fatality this year - a dog. … But (despite the improvements,) they still speed, and we must reduce the speed limit to 25 and enforce it. … The next one may not be a dog. It might be your child.”

Farther north, Evelyn Jordan said Five Mile Road, which has no sidewalks, is getting “worse and worse.”

“They start sometimes up at the top of the hill, and they keep accelerating until they get clear down on the flat down on Francis. It’s getting scary because so many people walk on that street.”

But Jerry Schuldt says lower speed limits without heavy enforcement to back them up are pointless. Traffic circles are more efficient and a more economical answer, he said.

“In the National Bicycle and Walking Study, traffic circles alone reduce accidents by up to 90 percent. …

“The best examples of how traffic has been calmed in Spokane streets are the traffic circles at Boone and Columbus in the Logan neighborhood and West 1300 Pacific in Browne’s Addition.”

As far as reduced speed limits being ineffective, Gerald Ray would agree:

“I personally watch the police sit and watch people break the speed limits. I read the paper every day, and I see that judges bargain the charges down from one level to another. Basically,” Ray said, “we’re at the mercy of people’s consciences, and in my opinion, not many people who drive in Spokane have consciences.”

, DataTimes MEMO: “Bagpipes” appears Tuesdays and Thursdays. To respond to issues raised on Tuesdays: Call 458-8800, category 9881, from a Touch-Tone phone; or send a fax to 459-5098 or e-mail to celh27b@prodigy.com. Representative replies appear Thursdays. You also can leave Doug Floyd a message at 459-5577, extension 5466.