Meeting Could Have Board Quorum Present

SRTC's annual audit has been completed for the 2010 fiscal year and the SRTC Board has been invited to an exit conference to receive preliminary results of the audit. There is a chance a quorum of Board members could be present for the meeting. Open Public Meeting Laws require that we notify the public anytime a quorum of the Board is gathered.

The conference is 8 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2011 at SRTC, 221 W. First Ave., Suite 310, Spokane, WA 99201. While the exit conference is open to the public to attend, there will be no public testimony taken at the meeting.

Second Ave. Paving Closures

A reminder from the City of Spokane that Division and Browne streets at Second Ave. will be reduced to one lane tonight, Sept. 7, beginning at 7 p.m. until tomorrow morning at 6 a.m. while crews grind and adjust the utilities.

Then, Second Avenue from Division to Howard streets will be completely closed to traffic Thursday and Friday, Sept. 8 and 9, from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. each day while crews pave the street.

Additionally, Division and Browne streets will be reduced to one lane while crews are paving.

This project is expected to be completely wrapped up in mid-September.

Transportation Improvement Program Public Meeting

Mark your calendars because you're coming to one of my public meetings. We've just released our draft 2012-2015 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) for public review and comment, and to answer your questions on it, we're holding a meeting. Yay meetings! That wasn't sarcastic either. I actually like doing public meetings because it puts me in touch with the folks out there who are interested in transportation issues for our area.

Anyway, back to the TIP; it's a four-year funding program document that lists transportation improvements proposed by jurisdictions within Spokane County. Each year we publish an updated TIP to let members of the public know what projects are tentatively planned for the next four years, how much each will cost, if any have funds dedicated to them yet and the approximate construction date (although that's a moving target).

You can review the TIP here. To submit comments on it, either attend the public meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 21 from 4-6 p.m. at SRTC, 221 W. First Ave. or email them to contact.srtc@srtc.org. The last day to submit comments is Friday, Oct. 7 at 4 p.m.

Spokane Animals Using 'Critter Crossing'

Ever see those 'Deer Crossing' signs and wonder who taught the deer to read so they know where to cross? Well apparently they're smart critters after all, because they've quickly figured out how to use the animal underpass below the North Spokane Corridor at Deadman Creek.

Letter Writer Says Helmet Law Is To Make Money

Spokesman-Review Letter to the Editor
Helmets About Money

We don’t need government to tell us we must wear a helmet to ride a bike, skateboard or anything with wheels. We can decide for ourselves.

It’s just another way for them to write tickets for more revenue. If they want more revenue, they can make a law for pedestrians, people in walkers and wheelchairs to wear helmets.

If you get a traffic ticket, you now can go to court and pay more money to have the ticket go from a moving violation to a non-moving violation. It’s not about safety; it’s about money.

Gust Abariotes
Spokane Valley

Agree or disagree? Keep in mind the countywide bike helmet initiative is proposed by the Spokane Regional Health District, not County Commissioners.

Spokane Transit Service Changes Go Into Effect Sept. 18

It's September and you know what that means. Yeah, yeah back to school and all that stuff but the important thing is Spokane Transit's service changes that go into effect this month. The changes are the result of extensive interaction between the STA Board of Directors, STA Staff and the riders and members of the community who use the STA system. Sunday, Sept. 18 is when the changes actually take place, so if you take the bus to work on Monday morning, be prepared.

Here's where you can find all the changes in one place.

PARK(ing) Day Is Sept. 16

Anyone locally taking part in PARK(ing) Day this year? It's Friday, Sept. 16. PARK(ing) Day is a annual global event where citizens, artists and activists collaborate to temporarily transform metered parking spaces into “PARK(ing)” spaces: temporary public places or mini-parks.

The mission of PARK(ing) Day is to call attention to the need for more urban open space, to generate critical debate around how public space is created and allocated, and to improve the quality of urban human habitat. Until the meter runs out, anyway.

Here's more info on PARK(ing)day. Let me know if you're taking part and I'll get someone to come take some pictures of your PARK(ing) spot for use in SRTC's everyday activities. If you're okay with that, of course.

Joe Tortorelli Appointed To WA State Transportation Commission

Congratulations to Joe Tortorelli of the Spokane Area Good Roads Association and SRTC's Transportation Advisory Committee. Governor Christine Gregoire appointed Joe to the Washington State Transportation Commission (WSTC) to fill a seat vacated by Latisha Hill, also of Spokane.

Tortorelli has a strong economic development background with 30+ years experience working with local government and private sector groups interested in growing the local economy and generating private sector capital investment. He says he became active in a variety of transportation organizations when he realized the connection between transportation and economic development.

As a member of the WSTC, Tortorelli will be a voting member of the SRTC’s Board of Directors. Here's more information on the Transportation Commission if you'd like to know more about it.

You're Invited To Pedestrian Sign Unveiling

You're invited to the unveling of new flashing pedestrians signs this Thursday, Sept. 8 at 12:15 p.m. at the corner of Hamilton Street and Desmet Avenue. Join Spokane Mayor Mary Verner and Dr. Thayne McCulloh, President of Gonzaga University, Gonzaga students, and others at the unveiling ceremony. Members of the public are encouraged to attend.

The signs are a joint project to increase driver awareness and pedestrian safety near the Gonzaga campus. A pedestrian enhancement island was recently installed in the crosswalk at Hamilton Street and Desmet Avenue and the lights go in tomorrow. Pedestrians will push a button to activate flashing rectangular lights that notify drivers on Hamilton Street of their intentions to cross the street. The project was funded by Gonzaga University and the City of Spokane.

Funding Challenges Loom For NSC

How to fund the rest of the North Spokane Corridor is up in the air. Nearly $600 million has been allocated to the new freeway so far, but an additional $1.3 billion is needed to complete it, and the economic outlook isn't so rosy considering the economy at this time.

Here's an article from yesterday's Spokesmab-Review detailing where the NSC stands now.

WSU Starts Campus Car-Sharing Program

A big shout out to Washington State University this morning. The University has contracted with Zipcar, Inc. to offer a car-sharing program on its main Pullman campus. The transportation option is now available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to all university students, faculty and staff members who are licensed drivers aged 18 and older.

Interested? Here are more details.

Busy Week/Month In The Federal Transportation World

September is gearing up to be one of the busiest months ever for federal transportation issues. What's going on, you ask? Well, according to Larry Ehl's Federal Transportation Issues Daily website, the FAA authorization expires mid-month, and the highway/transit authorization and federal transportation taxing authority must be renewed by the end of the month. And the 2012 fiscal year transportation appropriations bill (or a short term continuation) must be enacted before October 1.

Let's start small though. This week, the short-term extension of SAFETEA-LU will be the primary topic of a Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing on Thursday. The Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, which has jurisdiction over public transportation programs, is expected to produce a four-month extension that will be added to the EPW bill.

Also, we're expecting to hear soon about the House Transportation Committee's plans to act on an extension. Abd President Obama addresses Congress and the nation Thursday evening and is expected to include transportation/infrastructure proposals in his jobs initiative.

So, plan your week/month accordingly. I know I will be.

New SRTC Executive Director & This Week's Board Meeting

We'd like to welcome our new Executive Director Kevin Wallace to SRTC. He started today and is already at work, figuring out what it is we each do and how he can help us get where we want, and need, to be. If you're interested in meeting Kevin, this Thursday's SRTC Board meeting would be a good time as he'll be officially introduced to meeting attendees, and getting a feel for how things flow around here. Here's the Board packet for a little more enticement to get you to the meeting. As always, keep in mind that there is a public comment session at the meeting, where we'd love to hear your thoughts and opinions.

Snoqualmie Blasting Times Changing

If you're headed to the west side of the state this week at all, be aware that as summer fades, so does daylight, which means the start-time for rock blasting on I-90 over Snoqualmie Pass is now 7 p.m. For the safety of Washington State Department of Transportation crews, the work must be performed during daylight hours.

I-90 will be closed both directions from Gold Creek (milepost 56) to the Price Creek Sno Park (milepost 61) today, tomorrow and Thursday, from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. each day.

You'll also need to plan for the these impacts on I-90 just east of Snoqualmie Pass:

• Rolling slowdowns today through Friday, Sept. 9.

• Traffic restricted to one lane each direction tonight through Friday morning, Sept. 9, from 8 p.m. to 9 a.m., and Friday night, Sept. 9, at 10 p.m. to Saturday morning, Sept. 10, at 7 a.m.

Road Closures & Projects Wrapping Up For Next Week

There are a couple new road closures happening next week, and a couple road construction projects wrapping up! All the latest information is posted at the top of the www.SpokaneRoadFix.net website. for

Thanks For The Great Customer Service!

The trials and tribulations (and expenses) of owning a vehicle never seem to end. I had an incident recently where a local car wash damaged my car. The car wash owner is now refusing to fix it correctly, as he originally agreed to do, saying that I used the carwash incorrectly. Hmmm, that's a new one by me.

So I contacted the dealership that had given me a coupon to get my car washed there in the first place. I wasn't asking for anything, just wanted the manager to know that a business he is doing business with isn't providing good customer service. To my surprise, the manager at Larry H. Miller Honda downtown said that, because they had given me the coupon, they would foot the bill to get the car fixed! Holy cow that's some good customer service! Wasn't expecting that at all but am mighty impressed.

Seems like customer service is dead these days, so I like to spread the word when I get good customer service. Especially because it is SO expensive to own and maintain a car and with the way the economy is these days many people are barely making ends meet without having to worry about paying for things like getting dents repaired.

New Policy Could Make Reaching Public Transit Easier

Thanks to Bike to Work Barb for this article on how a new Federal Transit Administration policy will make it easier to walk or bike to public transit facilities.

Holiday Closures

Guess what folks? It's another holiday weekend. That means government offices will be closed Monday for Labor Day, including SRTC. I'll be back to blogging Tuesday though, so check back then.

Spokane City Council members will also get a holiday- from their weekly council meeting. They're cancelling it due to the holiday. Their next meeting is the following Monday, Sept. 12.

Good news though, if you plan to come downtown for Pig Out in the Park or last minute school shopping, parking meters don't have to be plugged on Monday. And most Washington State Department of Transportation construction work will be suspended by noon tomorrow to accommodate increased holiday traffic on area roadways.

I, for one, will be sticking close to home this holiday weekend. Anyone travelling anywhere exciting?

Megaloads In Real Life

Our staff manages to get out of the office every now and then, but even then they're willing to take some time to help me out. One of our GIS Analysts, Sylvia, took these pictures of a megaload over the weekend on US 95 near Moscow, ID, despite a security guard giving her the hairy eye ball.

This is a 'reduced size' megaload, but even so, it's not as big as I would have thought. Of course, pictures can be deceiving. The Moscow- Pullman Daily News says many of the 60 loads planned to be shipped through the area will be around 24 feet wide, 14 feet tall, 208 feet long and weighing 413,600 pounds, like this one.

Meanwhile, while looking up the latest info on the megaloads, I came across this picture, which the Lewiston Tribune has dubbed 'Early Megaload.'

Next NSC Project Expected To Get Underway This Fall

A newsletter put out yesterday by the Washington State Department of Transportation- Eastern Region North says that the agency has been fortunate in obtaining very competitive bids on the North Spokane Corridor construction projects over the last few years. That means they saved enough on those bids to put the final component in the north half of the corridor, the Parksmith Road Interchange, out for construction bids.

Although the contract hasn't been awarded yet, the low bidder was the Max J. Kuney Company of Spokane at $6,917,161.

The Parksmith Road Interchange provides access to the Mead community and the adjacent industrial commercial property. Most of the earthwork for the interchange ramps was done as part of a previous project. The work should get underway this fall and be completed in mid-2012.