U.S. Highway 95 safer, but much work remains
U.S. Highway 95 deaths may be down, but increasing traffic still poses dangers and frustration on the two-lane section between Garwood and Sagle.
The Idaho Transportation Department plans to improve about 33 miles to a four-lane divided highway and is seeking public input. Two open houses are scheduled this week.
Traffic on that section of Highway 95 increased 50 percent since 1990. Between 1997 and mid-2004 there were 990 accidents and 37 deaths on the stretch.
Although the total cost is unknown, some state money is available to begin construction in 2008 on the southern portion of the project in Kootenai County and for right of way acquisition in the Sagle area, said ITD spokeswoman Barbara Babic.
Construction will begin in the south because that portion of the highway is the most congested and has the worst pavement, said Babic.
ITD’s open houses are Tuesday at Athol Elementary School, 6333 E. Menser Ave., Athol and on Wednesday at Sagle Elementary School, 550 Sagle Road, Sagle. Both run from 5-8 p.m. and will offer participants the opportunity to ask ITD officials questions about the project and provide written and oral testimony on the draft environmental impact statement.
Airport Road
West Plains drivers headed to Spokane International Airport or taking a shortcut through airport property on McFarlane Road might have noticed a sign telling them the road will soon close. For good.
“Since I use this road to go to the airport, I was disappointed,” said Heidi Cooper.
McFarlane Road will permanently close Feb. 15 from Hayford into the airport because the airport will no longer maintain it.
The road was abandoned by Spokane County in 2003 and turned over to the airport, said Neal Sealock, airport director.
“I can’t use airport funds to maintain it, and it’s in a state that makes it so we can’t afford the liability,” Sealock said.
He sympathizes with users. “As you can imagine, our phones are ringing off the hook,” he said. “I use the route, too.”
Alternate routes via Flint Road or Spotted Road add about three-quarters of a mile to trips.
“It’s inconvenient because it’s change, but there are still at least four ways to get to the airport,” said Sealock.
Whose sidewalk is it?
When it comes to bridges, it’s often unclear whose responsibility it is to maintain sidewalks.
Amy Mickelson walks from her South Perry district home to work in downtown Spokane. Snow often accumulates on the sidewalks on bridges over Interstate 90 and near parks.
“I often have to walk in the street,” said Mickelson of the bridges.
Those bridges are the responsibility of the Washington State Department of Transportation, said Ann Deasy-Nolan, public information coordinator for Spokane’s engineering services department.
Sidewalks on other bridges in Spokane are the city’s responsibility to clear unless they abut private property, in which case it’s the property owners’ job to clear them during snowstorms.
It can be confusing, Deasy-Nolan acknowledges.
Even more bewildering is the protocol for clearing snow from those sidewalks.
Where they land on the priority list depends on how much it snows.
If snowfall is light, city crews will clear the sidewalks after arterials. During heavy snowfall, sidewalks drop further down the priority list and are taken care of only after residential streets.
“We concentrate on motoring traffic,” Deasy-Nolan said.
Child seat squabble
Some of you may have caught the controversy last week over a Consumer Reports article claiming that many child safety seats aren’t up to snuff in 38 mph side-impact crashes.
The magazine’s report was retracted after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that the Consumer Reports study was faulty and simulated crashes at much higher speeds, up to 70 mph.
The NHTSA and car seat manufacturers say the safety seats meet all standards and protect children.
Plus, as many pointed out, what’s the alternative? Holding a baby on your lap is not a good choice, and is much more dangerous. Please use the seat, as required by law.