Lawmakers Want Single Rail Corridor
When trains intersect with vehicle traffic, it can be frustrating and dangerous.
With two rail lines traversing the narrow Spokane Valley, cars, pedestrians and trains are at odds several times every day.
Local legislators hope to change that.
Sen. Larry Sheahan and Rep. Lynn Schindler are trying to sell Olympia on a proposal to combine the two rail corridors into one and build more overpasses.
Commuters long have wanted to reduce the number of railroad crossings in the Valley. A recent accident that left a boy seriously injured made the situation more apparent, Sheahan said recently.
“That just solidified the need to get a plan together to do it - and do it quickly,” Sheahan said.
Last month, 11-year-old Brian Judge lost his right arm and part of his right leg when he was snagged by a boxcar and dragged underneath its wheels. Judge had touched the train as it was passing over the tracks at Trent and Park.
The Spokane Regional Transportation Council plans to use a federal grant to hire a consulting firm to study the feasibility of combining rail corridors and building overpasses on Havana and on Park.
Currently, Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway tracks and Union Pacific tracks run about a mile apart.
“There are a lot of at-grade crossings through the Valley,” said Glenn Miles, who manages the transportation council. “If we can make public investments in one corridor instead of two, we have an opportunity to save money.”
Sheahan and Schindler want the state Department of Transportation and the state Utilities and Transportation Commission to take part in the study. Without their participation, the study could be deemed useless when it’s done, Sheahan said.
“If it didn’t meet criteria the state has …, they’d have to go back and do it all over again,” Sheahan said. “That would postpone it even longer.
“We need to have them in the loop.”
Talk to us, teenagers
In the last “Getting There” column, we talked about a proposal to make young drivers pass through three phases to qualify for a regular drivers license.
Washington state legislators are considering adopting the proposal, which is known as the graduated licensing program.
The program adds an intermediate license between a learners permit and a regular license. If adopted, young drivers couldn’t drive without some restrictions until age 18.
We heard from lots of parents about the plan. Now we want to hear how teenagers feel about it. See the box that runs with this column for ways to contact us.
Reader questions
Question: Is there any rhyme or reason to the way addresses are assigned in Spokane? Sometimes the north side of a street gets an even-numbered address; sometimes it gets an odd address.
Answer: The city follows its own special logic when it comes to addresses.
According to city traffic engineer Don Ramsey, the construction services department assigns addresses based on this rationale:
The city is split into four quadrants, with Sprague Avenue and Division Street as dividers.
If you’re on a north-south street north of Sprague, even addresses are on the east side. If you’re south of Sprague, even addresses are on the west side.
If you’re on an east-west street west of Division, even addresses are on the north side. If you’re east of Division, even addresses are on the south side.
City planners hoped that by varying the even and odd addresses, each of the four quadrants would be distinguishable and addresses within those areas would be easy to find.
See, there is a simple explanation.
Question: Why does traffic in the right-hand lane of Southeast Boulevard have to stop when turning onto Regal Street? It only adds to congestion and appears needless.
Answer: The stop is needed to protect pedestrians, Traffic Engineer Ramsey said. There’s a crosswalk there and, while it’s not heavily used, without it pedestrians would get little chance to cross the busy street.
FYI: Washington drivers involved in vehicular accidents must file their own reports with the state if the damage is less than $700.
The new threshold took effect Jan. 1.
Prior to that, a police officer had to investigate and file a report on any accident where property damage exceeded $500.
The state Legislature approved the change at the urging of Washington State Patrol Chief Annette Sandburg, who hoped the higher threshold would free officers for more serious incidents.
This sidebar appeared with the story: CONTACT US Your ideas
“Getting There” runs every other Monday. Have a transportation question that’s been nagging you? Let us hear it. Got an idea for a column? Drop us a line.
Phone us at (509) 459-5312 or fax us at (509) 459-5482. Send e-mail to kristinaj@spokesman.com or send a note to Kristina Johnson at The SpokesmanReview, 999 W. Riverside, P.O. Box 2160, Spokane 99210. Please leave a name and telephone number.