Cargill and Walther got it wrong

Are you tired of excessive summer heat and the smoke and destruction of wildfires? Of traffic-clogged streets and lack of parking? Of pedestrians and cyclists being injured and killed by motor vehicles (four in 12 days recently)? Of breathing problems from chemical and particulate pollution?

All of these problems are rooted in or worsened by our high use of personal motor vehicles. As research conducted for the Sustainability Action Plan demonstrates, almost half of the heat-trapping greenhouse gases emitted in Spokane comes from personal vehicles.

As a Spokanite who relies on public transit and uses it most days, I can attest that the Spokane Transit Authority provides an excellent network at a reasonable cost and that special efforts have been made to increase the frequency of much-used routes, to add services to newly-populated areas, and to reduce emissions.

The recent opinion piece by Chris Cargill and letter to the editor of Ed Walther, in my view, got it exactly wrong. Spokanites should take the bus more. Ride the bus to work instead of driving, some days per week if not all. Use the bus to get around town on the weekend, or to go to and from the Valley and Cheney. This will lessen all of the problems caused or worsened by personal vehicle use, as well as make good use of public funding.

Linda Carroll

Spokane