Utility Tax to Fix Roads Not Popular With Spokane Valley Residents

A proposed utility tax to repair roads in Spokane Valley is off the table- for now. According to the Spokane Valley News Herald, the 6-percent utility tax would have replaced an existing 6-percent telephone tax earmarked for road maintenance in the city. Public outcry scrapped the idea though and put the idea on hold.

At a hearing last week, Spokane Valley residents spoke out against the tax that would be levied against power usage, water, natural gas, garbage and sewer use. Among other issues, they cited the hardship the tax would put on low income people and how utilities aren't something people can cut back on if tight on money.

The tax would generate over $7 million a year to cover the nearly $6.5 million that is the projected need to maintain roadways. The existing phone tax only generates about $2.3 million because more people are getting rid of landlines and using only cell phones.

While the tax idea has been shelved for now, City Council members aren't done looking for a source for that revenue. They meet with utility officials this week to discuss a tax possibility and plan to work with the Greater Spokane Valley Chamber of Commerce on potential ideas.

2015 Record Year For Vehicle Miles Traveled

A couple years ago, everyone in transportation was reporting that driving was down. People were finding other ways to get around- riding their bikes, the bus, whatever. Then we heard that people were getting back behind the wheel. And today there is news from the U.S. Department of Transportation, on their Fast Lane blog, that 2015 was a record year for vehicle miles traveled. 

According to USDOT numbers, U.S. drivers ran up almost three trillion (yes with a 't') vehicle miles traveled last year. Each of the first 11 months of 2015 showed an increase of between 2.5 and 4.9 percent from the same month in 2014. Data isn't in from December yet. Even so, those numbers make 2015 the most heavily traveled year in history.

That doesn't necessarily mean that individuals are driving more miles. The population has grown, meaning more people are driving, and truck shipments have increased, putting more large trucks on the road.

This isn't a record that those of us in the transportation industry are celebrating. Each of those miles means a lot of wear and tear on our roadways, increases greenhouse gas emissions, and increases traffic congestion.

10 Traffic Myths Debunked

One of our GIS analysts opened an umbrella in my office the other day. I jokingly reminded him that he just brought bad luck on himself. He told me that's an old wive's tale and that he was going to bring a ladder into my office to walk under. It turns out that there are many, many old wive's tales, also known as myths, in the transportation world. Citylab put together a post on 10 Tired Traffic Myths that you can read here. 

It includes:

• More roads mean less traffic
• More transit means less traffic
• Bike lanes make traffic worse
• A wider road is a safer road
• The next lane over is moving faster
• There's no downside to cheap gas
• Drivers pay the full cost of road maintenance
• And more!

Read the article to find out why these are myths. 

Santa's Not Bringing Us Bags of Money for Transportation, So Tell Us How To Spend The Little That We Have

There are so many areas to consider when deciding which transportation projects to fund. Safety, reducing congestion, adding bicycle and pedestrian facilities, preserving and maintaining current roadways, and improving public transit are just a couple of the focus areas we have to look at.

So which is most important to you? That's what we're asking people to let us know with our web survey- which areas are a priority for you that we invest local transportation dollars in. Unfortunately, there's not enough money to go around so we have to be selective.

Let us know your preferences and thoughts so we can develop our transportation system into an efficient one for our community.

How Would YOU Spend $50M on Local Transportation?

If it was your job to decide how money is spent on local transportation projects and programs, what areas would be most important for you to invest money in? SRTC is launching an online survey tool that demonstrates the difficult financial trade-offs that must be made to maintain and improve our transportation system.
New federal and state regulations require Metropolitan Planning Organizations like SRTC to create and track performance measures and targets to ensure the transportation system is developing as planned. 

The new web tool will help you understand how investments and outcomes are related and also allows you to identify priorities of the region that will help develop those targets. 

The tool allows users to choose an estimated level at which they would like to fund categories such as roadway preservation and management, congestion management, bicycle and pedestrian improvements, transit improvements and transportation safety.

As you allocate money to each category, graphics show just how far that amount would go. For instance, for roadway preservation, the amount of lane miles repaired changes as you change the funding for that category. For bicycle and pedestrian improvements, the percentage of people commuting by bike or walking increases or decreases as you add or subtract money. Screen shots on the following page give an idea what you will see when using the web tool.

Just like in real life, the hard part is not blowing your budget. The $50 million available for distribution on the web tool is based on the approximate amount of money projected to be invested in the local transportation system by SRTC over the next five years.  Once you have made your budgeting decisions, you can compare your results to others who have used the web tool and learn about the next steps in the performance measurements development process.

1/3 of WA State's Urban Highways In Poor Condition

These photos I took of SR290 (Trent) yesterday show
just a little of the damage this report talks about.

Ouch! A new report says maintenance has been shortchanged so long that Washington State's urban highways are becoming worse in condition than in other states.

A researcher for the group TRIP in Washington, D.C., says Some 34 percent are in poor condition, as are 22 percent of the state’s rural highways. An estimated 21 percent of state bridges are functionally obsolete, and 5 percent are structurally deficient, the report goes on to say.

While the study is careful not to cast blame, it

does say that the state government is only currently spending 1/7th of state DOT funds on maintenance and preservation — while running up big debts to deliver big-ticket projects including the Highway 99 tunnel and Highway 520 bridge.

Here's more on this analysis from the Seattle Times.

Streets Levy Campaign Picking Up Steam

Spokane's Street Levy would
make roads like this a thing of the past.

Have you seen that billboard downtown yet that asks you to support the City of Spokane's Streets Levy? I saw it last week and was wondering where the money came from to pay for it. This Spokesman-Review article talks about the Levy and what it would pay for, how oversight will be conducted on it, and who has contributed to a campaign to support it.

Road Construction Update

WSDOT
Freeway and Highway Sweeping- Be alert for slow moving sweeping operations on most highway routes, especially in the Spokane metro area.  Sweepers and/or water flushing trucks followed by warning vehicles will be moving slowly along highway shoulders. On multi-lane freeways and divided highways, sweeping may be taking place on the inside shoulder along the left lane.

North Spokane Corridor/Francis Avenue Bridge and Intersection Improvements- The right turn lane for southbound traffic on Freya Street is closed to construct the new roadway at the northwest corner.  All traffic movements are allowed, but the right turn onto westbound Francis Avenue needs to be done from the through lane. This configuration will be in place through late April, and will be restored once the asphalt paving is completed at this location. 

SPOKANE VALLEY

Sharp Ave. from Seehorn to Lake Rd. - The eastbound lane will be closed from 7:30 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. Monday, April 7 through Friday, April 11 for utility work. Flaggers will direct traffic through the work area.

Mirabeau Parkway between Pinecroft and Mansfield - Expect 2- to 3-minute closures of the southbound lane on Mondays through Thursdays from 6:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. for utility work beginning Monday, April 7 continuing through Thursday, April 24.  You may wish to use alternative routes.

SPOKANE CITY
Francis Ave. from Division to Crestline- This project will rehabilitate Francis Avenue from Division to Crestline Streets.  The work is curb to curb and includes installation of ADA curb ramps, where needed.

Regal Street and Palouse Highway Intersection- Regal Street and the Palouse Hwy. Intersection will have traffic disruptions starting Monday, April 7 in preparation for construction of a new traffic signal and street upgrades. The first phase begins Monday, April 14 with minor traffic impacts for the construction of a temporary detour to the west for Regal Street traffic. This work requires sidewalk closures, lane closures, and other minor temporary traffic revisions. This will also include at times, no direct access to the existing parking lot for the Park on the west side of this intersection.

o   Starting Sunday Night, April 13 at 7 p.m., the contractor will start the second phase which will include major traffic impacts at this intersection.  Regal Street traffic will be re-routed to the new temporary roadway alignment to the west.   This temporary roadway will allow for northbound and southbound thru movement at Palouse Hwy and access to the existing parking lot on the west side to southbound traffic only.  This new alignment will include curves with an advisory speed of 20 MPH in the construction zone.  Traffic using the new temporary roadway will have no direct access to Palouse Hwy. 

o   The Palouse Hwy will be closed to all traffic just east of Regal Street and will have no direct access to Regal Street. The traffic control will maintain local driveway access to all businesses that use Palouse Hwy between Regal Street and Freya Street. All Palouse thru traffic will be re-routed using established marked detours starting at the intersection of Palouse Hwy and Freya Street.

Cured in Place Pipe (CIPP) Sewer Rehab Project- Installation of a pipe liner to rehabilitate sanitary sewer pipes at various locations around town is underway at the following locations:

o   Work on Helena from Rowan south to Crown Avenue, near Whitman Elementary started Friday, April 4 and includes the closure of the intersection at Rowan and Helena.  Work continues through April 11.

o   Work in the residential area on one block of Crestline Street north of Upriver Drive to North Crescent began April 3 with the street closed April 4 to accommodate the scheduled work.

o   Work at the intersection of Illinois and Crestline will impact traffic beginning through Sunday, April 6.  

Francis and Freya Intersection Work- A signal removal and replacement will occur at the Francis/Freya intersection with construction continuing for approximately one month.  Flagging at the intersection will occur between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m.  The dedicated right turn lane will be closed for southbound traffic on Freya Street in order to construct the new roadway at the northwest corner.  All traffic movements will still be allowed.   The right turn onto westbound Francis Avenue will be routed from the through lane. This configuration remains in place approximately one month or until paving is complete. 

Chandler Watermain Work- Construction of a new 42 inch diameter water main begins on Chandler from 8^th to 7^th Avenue, on 8^th from Chandler to Cowley, and on Cowley from 7^th to 8^th Avenue.  Cowley is closed until April 11.  Weather conditions may cause delays.

Monroe from Broadway to Mallon- The northbound outside lane on Monroe Street from Broadway Avenue to Mallon Avenue will be closed April 7 through April 9.  

Boone Street from Ash to Cedar- The eastbound outside lane on West Boone Street from North Ash to North Cedar will be closed  for Avista utility Pole work. 

31^st Avenue between Division and Tekoa- Closed  through Wednesday, April 9^th for a private sewer line replacement.

Spokane Doesn't Rank So Well In Report on Pavement Condition

Ouch, this hurts. On a list of 20 U.S. mid-sized urban areas (250,000 to 500,000 in population) with the highest percentage of pavements in poor condition and the highest vehicle operating cost, Spokane ranks in the top ten for both.
These findings were released today by TRIP, a national transportation research group based in Washington, D.C. Their report, "Bumpy Roads Ahead: America’s Roughest Rides and Strategies to Make our Roads Smoother," looks at urban pavement conditions, transportation funding and economic development.

The report can be found here.  Spokane is mentioned on pages 3 and 5. So tell me again why our region isn't spending more on maintenance and preservation....