South Bowdish An Arterial; Barrier Installation Halted

Spokane County halted installation of barriers designed to slow traffic along South Bowdish Road after the last-minute discovery on Friday that the road is officially a secondary arterial.

“That changed everything as far as what we can do to the road,” said county spokesman Chad Hutson.

As county crews marked with paint where six-inch-high concrete medians would jut from the curbs of South Bowdish, engineers discovered that county commissioners had classified the road as a secondary arterial in September 1984.

“The official classification is that of an arterial,” said Public Works director Dennis Scott. “If we put (the barriers) in, then it would be like putting something like that on Sprague Avenue and I don’t think that would go over very well.”

The county said it has no plans to put up signs or stripe the road like a main arterial. It will, however, continue to monitor the street and ask that drivers observe the 25 mph speed limit.

County officials said the road’s official status should have been checked before they made any promises to people living along South Bowdish who want to see an end to speeders.

“The county has egg on its face,” Scott said.

Two weeks ago, the county announced it would install low-lying traffic medians in two separate places along South Bowdish between Sands and 44th Avenue. The barriers would require drivers to slow to 10 mph to zizag along the road. Rather than navigate the road’s zig-zag course - upon which someone recently painted the words “Giant Slalom” - officials believed that many drivers would choose another route, reducing traffic through the neighborhood.

People living along South Bowdish in the Forest Meadows subdivision have complained for some time that both the volume and speed of traffic along their street creates a danger for children and others.

A 1997 county traffic study found that 1,460 cars per day travel the street at an average speed of 29 mph. Neighbors say many people drive more than 10 miles per hour faster than the posted 25 mph speed limit.

Last year, the county responded to residents’ complaints by putting up “Local Access Only” signs along South Bowdish. That angered many residents of the nearby Ponderosa neighborhood, who said they have a right to use the public roadway.

In December, the county sent out 1,500 questionnaires to residents of Ponderosa and Forest Meadows neighborhoods asking if access to the road should be limited. The vast majority of those who responded said no.

Almost everyone involved in the dispute has been frustrated by the county’s actions.

People living along South Bowdish were unhappy with the county’s decision not to install the traffic barriers. Several neighbors contacted declined to comment on the decision. One sent a letter to county commissioners saying the neighborhood was upset with the decision and requesting a meeting with county officials.

Meanwhile, people living in Ponderosa were pleased with the county leaving the road open.

“We’re thrilled,” said Gayle White, who lives on 46th Avenue and Van Marter. White said she opposes any changes that would limit access to the Ponderosa neighborhood. Closing one road could endanger people in disasters such as the fire storm that swept through the hilly, pine-studded neighborhood a few years ago, she said.