South Hill traffic ideas controversial

The ink is barely dry, but Rockwood neighborhood residents and businesses already are battling over a south Spokane transportation report.

The corner of 29th Avenue and Pittsburg Street is ground zero.

A group of students, parents and neighbors of Cornerstone Christian Academy wants a traffic barrier on 29th Avenue removed to allow eastbound drivers to turn left onto Pittsburg, but other Rockwood neighborhood traffic-watchers are adamantly opposed.

“They want to put more traffic through our neighborhood to commute between downtown and farther south. We already suffer from a lot of cut-through traffic now, and this would add to it,” said Rockwood Neighborhood Council Chairman Dallas Hawkins.

Alternative 6, a proposal to remove the barrier and install traffic lights on Pittsburg at 29th and at Rockwood Boulevard, is one of 13 options examined by the Spokane Regional Transportation Commission as ways to relieve traffic congestion on the South Hill.

“I have been working on trying to do away with the cut-through traffic in the Rockwood neighborhood for at least nine years, and when I saw that, I just about wanted to cry,” said Rockwood Traffic Committee Chairwoman Marilyn Akerhielm.

But the Pittsburg option scored highly during public meetings, and an informal survey of neighboring residents and businesses found that more than 80 percent support removing the barrier and installing a traffic light there.

The survey was conducted last year by Cornerstone eighth- and ninth-graders.

“The median has been a source of stress for years,” said Cornerstone teacher Karen Waite.

Neighbor Linda Rust agrees.

She said the barrier forces traffic bound for the academy and neighboring church onto her residential street, Pinecrest Road.

But Hawkins said only a small group supports the proposal, adding that Rockwood neighborhood residents weren’t given adequate notice to comment on the study.

Rockwood was specifically notified of all the public meetings and was invited to attend, said Spokane Regional Transportation Commission Director Glenn Miles.

Other alternatives studied by the commission include widening Carnahan Road to add a turn lane on the steep hill, widening Southeast Boulevard and improving Hatch Road and connecting it to a new road to allow for increased traffic.

Spokane and Spokane County will decide whether to implement any of the ideas.

But Hawkins wants to make sure Alternative 6 never comes to pass.

“This is where we get to yell, scream and gnash our teeth and get our pitchforks out,” he said.

Miles said he hopes it doesn’t come to that and that a compromise can be found.

Surviving holiday flights

Don’t wrap those packages.

That’s the No. 1 double-underlined holiday-travel tip on a list distributed recently by Spokane International Airport spokesman Todd Woodard.

If you wrap any presents, they’re going to be unwrapped this year. And not by the recipient – by airport security employees.

Other tips include not waiting curbside for passengers, double-checking your flight’s status before you leave home, allowing extra time to get through check-in and security and tagging all your bags.

And here’s a biggie – limit those carry-ons. Airlines will tighten their one carry-on restriction this time of year. And the rest of us don’t want to have to deal with your five bags of presents anyway.

I want my SUV

That should be the theme song for Washington state, where, despite ever-escalating gasoline costs, people continue to buy sport utility vehicles.

The number of SUVs registered in Washington shot up 19 percent between 1997 and 2002, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

And while the state Department of Transportation berates people who use studded snow tires for damaging our highways, you’ve got to wonder how much more wear and tear a heavy Ford Explorer creates than a Honda Accord.

Deer whistles don’t work

Bumper-mounted whistles aren’t going to keep you from hitting a deer. But if you do hit one, wearing a seat belt could save your life.

According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, the number of fatal vehicle-animal crashes is going up. In 2003, there were 201 of these accidents – up 27 percent from the year before.

Most people weren’t killed by an animal crashing through the windshield and hitting them. They died from injuries like those they might have suffered in any other car crash, by going off the road or hitting another car or stationary object.

Sixty percent of those killed in vehicle-animal accidents weren’t wearing seat belts, and 65 percent of those killed while riding a motorcycle weren’t wearing helmets.

Deer were involved in more fatal accidents than any other animal. The good news for drivers is that only about 110 of the 1.5 million vehicle-deer accidents annually end in people dying.

The deer are the creatures that really suffer.

Fair warning

The Spokane Police Department’s traffic unit will be conducting its emphasis patrols this week in the downtown area.

It will be paying particular attention to drivers running red lights.

Slow going

U.S. Highway 2 could get sticky this week near Nevada Street and Farwell Road. Crews will be working on a driveway near Nevada and on gas lines near Farwell. There may be lane restrictions.

Closures will continue this week on the Maple Street Bridge loop into downtown. Pay attention.

And finally, Spokane city leaf-pickup efforts will continue this week. Crews will be in the Lidgerwood area today, East Sprague today and Tuesday, Rockwood today, Esmeralda on Tuesday and Wednesday, Liberty/Lincoln on Tuesday to Thursday, Garry Park on Wednesday to Sunday, Gonzaga on Friday to Monday, the central business district on Saturday and Hangman Valley on Sunday.