Ban the studs

In Monday’s newspaper (December 7, 2020) there is an article about the road maintenance budget and the national ranking of the state’s roads and bridges. Studded snow tires are a big reason that Washington is ranked 45th out of 50. The damage caused by these tires add millions of dollars in repair costs to the shrinking transportation budget each biennium.

Currently, deicing chemicals are applied to the roads before, during and after a snow storm, resulting in a road surface that is bare and wet. So why do we still allow the use of studded snow tires when they provide no advantage and cause millions of dollars in damage each year across the state? Andy Billig’s solution is to continue to throw more money at repairing the damage caused instead of getting rid of the problem, i.e., outlaw studded snow tires.

If you had a hole in your roof, would you include money in your yearly budget for water damage repair or would you allocate part of your budget for roof repair? By the time the North South Corridor is connected to I-90 in 2029, the current driveable portion will be rough and rutted from the studded snow tires. States like Michigan and Colorado, which get hundreds of inches of snow every year, have outlawed studded tires years ago and have the benefit of nice smooth concrete and asphalt roads. It only makes sense that Washington do the same and get rid of the studded snow tires.

Robert A. Hopkins

Liberty Lake