State, B.C. to coordinate road repairs

It’s not just tighter security that’s making it tougher to traverse the U.S.-Canadian border.

It’s overstressed and, in some cases, dangerous highways.

The Washington State Department of Transportation and the British Columbia Ministry of Transportation are now working together to study ways to improve travel along northeast Washington and West Kootenay corridors.

Traffic has increased dramatically in those areas since the passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

In the case of Highway 395, traffic has grown in some places by more than 200 percent over the last 10 years, says Mark Rohwer, a Washington Transportation planning manager.

“Improvements will eventually have to be made,” he said of the highways along the border.

The goal is to work with British Columbia so that work is planned along the same route in both countries.

Construction is already planned for 12.5 miles of Highway 31 between Metaline Falls and the Canadian border.

The entire section will be rebuilt so that trucks can travel it all year. Right now they can’t use it during spring thaw.

And the Sullivan Creek Bridge will be replaced to widen it and get rid of a tight curve on its southern end.

That’s good news for anyone who’s ever experienced a semi going at them on the bridge when it fails to stay on its side of the road.

Tuition tickets

A Madison, Wis., miscreant was busted last week for his uniquely illegal way of raising money.

Seems he copied a parking ticket he’d received, changed a few details, inserted his own P.O. box number, and started putting tickets on people’s cars.

At $40 a pop, the fake tickets netted bad frat boy Anthony Gallagher hundreds of dollars.

As if parking tickets weren’t infuriating enough, who wants to be buying beer for some college kid?

Making the rounds

Spokane Transit starts its new southside/medical shuttle today.

The 50-cent fare will get you from downtown and up the South Hill to major hospitals and medical facilities between Shriners Hospital and Cancer Care Northwest.

The No. 2 will leave the Plaza every 20 minutes between 6 a.m. and 6:25 p.m.

Monthly bus passes and Arena City Ticket passes can also be used on the shuttle.

Air jams

Domestic air travel is up 8.2 percent compared to last year, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics.

It’s true that fuel prices have gone up, but so have ticket prices. So with more passengers, why are so many airlines having financial problems?

Inflated government

Are we incapable of walking around our vehicles to look at the tires, or using a pressure gauge to measure the exact pressure?

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration now wants to require automakers to install a four-tire “Tire Pressure Monitoring System” to warn drivers if their tires are more than 25 percent underinflated.

While the attention to vehicle safety is admirable, just how much more is this going to cost all of us when we buy our next cars? And should people who can’t tell their tires are that underinflated even be allowed drivers’ licenses?

What’s next? A warning light when your windshield is covered with frost?

Fair warning

The seat belt police are going to be out in full force for the next two weeks, making sure you’re buckled up.

Local police and Spokane County Sheriff’s deputies will be putting in an extra 250 hours between today and Oct. 3 to catch people not wearing their seat belts.

Not wearing your belt will cost you $101.

But the primary seat belt law is working. Washington’s compliance rate is now at about 94 percent compared to 82 percent before the law went into effect.

And state traffic safety officials estimate that increased seat belt usage is saving about 70 lives a year across the state.

Fair warning two

The Spokane Police Department’s traffic unit will be conducting its emphasis patrol this week around school zones.

Remember the speed limit in these areas is 20 mph when children are present.

Fair warning three

Folks headed to or from the Coeur d’Alene Casino could run into some traffic issues Saturday because of the Southeast Spokane County Fair Parade in Rockford. Highway 278 will be closed in Rockford from 10 a.m.-noon. Detours will be in place.