Berms bury tax dollars

It has now been more than seven weeks since the big storm, and arterials throughout Spokane remain partially obstructed with snow berms. Division Street is only two-thirds cleared from Bridgeport to the Y. There is little evidence the closed lanes will be cleared before spring. As a result, gridlock ensues at each rush hour, partly because there are only two lanes open to accommodate three lanes worth of traffic, and partly because the traffic lights have not been adjusted to compensate for this change.

Here is the problem: Traffic jams cost time and money. Time cannot be manufactured or changed; once minutes are wasted they are gone. Second, gridlock wastes gas. I am burning roughly 10 percent more gas this year than last. I am sure many of you have noted the same.

All of us bear a cost, pay a tax, when our leaders fail to adequately plan and fund for a harsh winter. Nobody likes taxes. But when we pay a tax to provide a service, it should be enough to do that job right. Failure to do so results in hidden taxes. And when that tax is measured in irretrievables such as lost time and excess pollution, the cost is too high.

Keith Kadel

Spokane