New Transportation Apps Make Travelling A Lot Easier

Smartphone users- if you're if you're taking a family vacation this summer, or even a quick weekend trip to the west side of the state, some new apps can make your trip a lot more convenient than in the days of a fold-up paper map.

Mashable shares their ten favorite transportation apps here .

New Traffic School Will Mean A Ticket May Not Go On Your Record

Got a traffic ticket but can't afford to have it on your driving record? Good news! Spokane's City Council last night voted to form a new traffic school option that will allow drivers involved in certain traffic infractions the option of taking a traffic school course rather than have a ticket go on their record. Councilman Jon Snyder talks about it on his blog this morning.

San Francisco Residents Sell Parking Spaces In Their Driveways Online

Never having been to the Kentucky Derby, I didn't know that people in the neighborhoods around Churchill Downs sell parking spots in their driveways and yards to Derby goers. I guess it's quite a zoo, with people posting signs with their desired parking price, some yelling price quotes and a lot of negotiating going on.

Well the idea has now spread to San Francisco, where ParkPlease debuts this weekend to coincide with the Outside Lands music festival. ParkPlease allows residents to post their yards, lots, spots, alleys, driveways and garages to a map so potential parkers can line up a parking spot in advance.

And it's working apparently- business has been brisk so far. The Atlantic Cities blog has the details.

Panhandling Ordinance Could Hurt Non-Profit's Fundraising Efforts

An ordinance aimed at improving public safety by banning panhandlers from reaching into the street to take money from drivers could shut down some well known non-profit fund raising events such as the Fire Fighter's "Fill the Boot" campaign and the Spokane Guilds’ School & Neuromuscular Center “Kids for Kids” Penny Drive. Here's the story.

Pedestrian Hit & Killed By Driver On South Hill

Another pedestrian has been hit and killed by a car while walking in Spokane. This time it happened Saturday night on the South Hill and investigators are still trying to find out who the victim is.
The Spokesman-Review has the story.

Not Too Rich To Use Public Transit Apparently

This is kind of cool; during the Olympics in London last week, basketball stars Kobe Bryant and LeBron James used public transit to get around.

Grist has the story.

New Spokane City Construction Project Starts Today

A heads up that a project starts today to rehabilitate Adams Street from 21st Avenue to 15th Avenue and surrounding residential streets including: Jefferson St. from 21st Avenue to 15th Avenue; Madison Street from 21st Avenue to 17th Avenue; 17th, 18th, and 19th Avenues from Cedar Street to Madison Street; and 20th Avenue from Adams Street to Madison Street. The project also includes installing ADA curb ramps where necessary, and repairing storm drains. During construction Adams St. from 21st to 15th avenues and surrounding streets will be closed with local access being maintained.
The $934,000 project is being funded by the 10-Year Street Bond.

WSDOT Construction Update For Next Week

US 2-Division Street/Francis Ave. to the “Y”

On Monday and Tuesday, August 13 and 14, during daytime hours, expect inside or curb lane closures and slow traffic and congestion with Division Street reduced to 2 lanes for asphalt grinding and resurfacing.

On Wednesday and Thursday, August 15 and 16, during evening and overnight hours, expect center-lane closures and slow traffic and congestion with Division Street reduced to 2 lanes.

I-90/BNSF Bridges (just west of Four Lakes) to Geiger Blvd. Interchange Pavement grinding work starts Monday, August 13 with paving planned to start on August 16th. I-90 may be reduced to one lane in each direction depending on work location during daytime, evening, and/or overnight hours.

I-90 Westbound/Freya Street to Maple Street
On Saturday, August 11, beginning at about 10:30 p.m., until as late as 8 a.m. the following morning, westbound I-90 will be reduced to one through lane to repair an overhead pedestrian bridge and bridge joints in the freeway lanes. Westbound drivers should expect slow traffic and congestion.

US 2-Newport Highway (MP 294-Between Hawthorne Rd. Nevada St.)
US 395-Division St. (MP 165-Between Hawthorne Rd. and Falcon Dr.
On Sunday morning, August 12th, from about 6 a.m. to around 8 a.m., be alert for possible intermittent delays of up to 10 minutes for maintenance of overhead high voltage power transmission lines.

Portland Gets Bike Counter For Hawthorne Bridge

Start the countdown. Or the count up, in this case. A new bike counter (a.k.a. the bicycle barometer) — the first of its kind in the United States — went live at midnight last night and at this morning's press conference to unveil it, the number of bikes that had crossed it was already well over 2,000.

The counter works via four sets of air hoses strung across the Hawthorne Bridge path. When someone on a bicycle rolls over the hoses, their weight depresses the hose, which creates a pulse that is converted into a radio signal that beams wirelessly to the counter. We've got something similar to this on the new Children of the Sun Trail that is part of the North Spokane Corridor, but nothing on a regular roadway.


Bike Portland has the full story on what they plan to do with information gathered by the counter.

STA Looking To Fill Corridor Advisory Panels

For those of you I've heard complain on occasion about public transportation in Spokane- here's your chance to make your opinion count: Spokane Transit is forming Corridor Advisory Panels (CAP’s) for the following projects:


- Cheney to Downtown Spokane

- Five Mile to Moran Prairie

- North Division to Downtown Spokane

- Downtown to Liberty Lake via Spokane Valley

If you’re interested in serving on a Corridor Advisory Panel (CAP) for one of these corridors, please fill out an application. There's more info on those projects and more at that link too.

Gen Y Members Would Rather Go To Dentist Than Negotiate Vehicle Purchase

We've been hearing a lot lately that young people across the country are getting drivers licenses and buying cars at significantly lower rates than in the past. We're in the process of working on our Metropolitan Tranpsortation Plan (MTP), Horizon 2040, that is a long term 'blue print' for transportation for our area. Taking into account that young people will be making many of our transportation decisions in the future, we planned a 'roundtable discussion' around the topic of young people and transportation, to help develop the MTP.

Based on that background information, I wasn't surprised when I saw a study this morning that says Generation Y members, people born between 1980 and 1998, consider negotiations with a car salesman to be more painful than a trip to the dentist. Really?? And that is going to mean some changes in how we buy cars as 'millenials,' as they are called, currently represent two of five car buyers and could be purchasing 75 percent of vehicles by 2025.
Auto News has the story.

Someone Please Post Bail For the Boss

Okay folks, here's the deal- this picture on the left? Yeah, that could be me next Thursday if you don't help out. That's because, with the boss not here, I may not be able to figure out just what to do with myself. And I get really sleepy in the afternoons sometimes when the office is warm.

So where is the boss going that is so important as to leave me unattended? To jail! That's right, Kevin Wallace has been bad. Alright, he hasn't really but it's fun to give him trouble about it. Kevin has graciously agreed to take part in the Muscular Dystrophy Association's annual fund raiser that puts folks behind bars to raise money to fight muscular diseases.

If Kevin doesn't raise $2500 by next Thursday, guess what? It's the pokey for him and nap/play time for me. I'm impressed though- Kevin has already raised $980. Not bad for a guy that's fairly new to town. If you want to help out and keep me from having an easy day, go to his MDA website and give whatever you can. Consider it a contribution to the state of our local transportation system.

Almost $80M In Funding Requests Submitted For Available $22.5M

We just wrapped up a 'call for projects' for the Surface Transportation Program (STP) for 2013-2016. A call for projects means we have a certain amount of money to disperse to local transportation projects, so we put out a call asking area jurisdictions to submit projects that they would like to have funded.

STP is a  funding program for surface transportation projects. It provides for a wide range of transportation-related activities including: roadway and bridge construction, reconstruction, and maintenance; transit capital projects; carpool projects; bicycle and pedestrian projects and programs; safety projects; traffic monitoring and management; and transportation enhancement activities. We have $22.5 million in STP funds to give out in four categories:


Roadway Preservation  projects are intended to improve/preserve the structural integrity of existing roadways with no significant geometric improvements. This includes projects such as grind and overlays.  Alternative mode improvements* can be part of the project but are limited to 10% of the total project cost.

Roadway Reconstruction projects are intended to rebuild existing roadways full depth. A reconstruction project may include alternative mode improvements*, but it should be limited to 10% of the total cost. A reconstruction project includes replacing asphalt intersections with concrete or improving sight distances.
Roadway Improvement projects construct a new roadway or widen an existing roadway to place additional lanes or turn lanes. A project that does not require additional right-of-way but significantly changes travel patterns (i.e. road diet) may also qualify as a roadway improvement. An improvement project may include alternative mode improvements*, limited to 10% of the total project cost.
Other Non-Roadway projects are those that do not include roadway improvements, or the roadway improvements are limited to 10% of the total project cost. This includes projects such as bicycle and/or pedestrian facilities, transit capital projects, traffic management and transportation enhancements.
*Alternative mode improvements are projects that include the addition of or improvement to pedestrian facilities, bike facilities, transit facilities and ITS and communications improvements.

We've put together the table below (click on it to view it larger) of the applications submitted to give you an idea of the need in our community to maintain our transportation facilities. Here's how it shook out:

With only $22.5 million in STP funds, we obviously can't fund ALL these projects. So here's what comes next:

• August 6-10- A team of experts from local jurisdictions will review pavement conditions of Roadway Preservation and Roadway Reconstruction applications.
• August 13-17- SRTC staff and members of the Transportation Technical and Transportation Advisory committees will score the projects.
• September TTC/TAC Meetings- review scoring results and rcommend prioritized list(s)
• November 8- The SRTC Board will approve a prioritized list.

The Four Biggest Myths About Truckers Dispelled

We have been talking about the movement of freight on our roads a lot lately, both because we just wrapped up Phase 2 of the Inland Pacific Hub Project and because we're starting work on our long term Metropolitan Transportation Plan, Horizon 2040.

So I found this infographic (click on it to view full size) interesting. By the way, I 'stole' it, as I often do, from Transportation Issues Daily. It dispels some of the biggest myths about truckers, such as that they cause traffic accidents and use lots of drugs.

When I first started at SRTC six years ago, you never heard the movement of freight discussed when talking about transportation. Now, it's common to hear people talk about trucks on our roads and convenient freight routes when you ask people what their transportation concerns or interests are. So, thought it would be good to set the record straight since we're probably going to see more trucks, rather than less, in the future. Especially with the North Spokane Corridor coming on line.

Local Red Light Camera Catches Crazy Hit & Run Collision

Holy cow, you should see this video! Spokane Police posted the video below to YouTube in an effort to find a “good samaritan” who attempted to stop a hit and run driver after a July 1, 2012 collision at 3rd Avenue and Freya.


Just before 5am that morning, red light cameras picked up the footage below.  The two occupants in the car that was hit were seriously injured. After seeing the video, I feel they're lucky to be alive! This is like a movie scene crash.

Apparently, after the video ends, the suspect car leaves the scene and the man you see running into the area tries to chase it. Police are looking for that man to interview and have not been able to locate him. Anyone with any information is asked to call Crime Check at 456-2233.

Study Says Women Experience More Road Rage

What a joke! Are they for real?? This is a crock of ... uh sorry, got a little out of control there. I got fired up when reading that a new study of commuters claims women are more prone to road rage than men.
Of the 3,000+ drivers surveyed, 61% of women said that they had experienced road rage, compared to 56% of men. And roughly 9% of commuters have actually gotten into a fight with another commuter. Wow, that's a higher number than I would have thought. I'm too lazy to even go through a drive through to get food, I can't imagine the effort it would take to get out of my car and engage someone in a fight.
CBS Baltimore has more of the study's findings.

$17B In Fed Funds Made Available For Transportation Project Loans

I'm hearing the sounds of road construction in my head. That's because Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced late last week that the Obama administration will make $17 billion available for loans to construct transportation projects.


The money is part of an expansion of the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) program in the recently approved $105 billion transportation bill, the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21).

What's that mean for us locally? We're not sure yet so I'll keep an eye on the topic and report back as discussions develop. In the meantime, here's more on TIFIA from The Hill.

August SRTC Board Meeting Cancelled

The SRTC Policy Board meeting scheduled for this Thursday, August 9 has been cancelled to give our Board members a summer break. The next regular meeting is scheduled for September 13, 2012.

Two City of Spokane Construction Projects Start Today

• A project to reduce Spokane Falls Blvd. from Division to Sherman streets to one lane of travel in each direction, add bike lanes, and landscaped median starts today. Additionally, water main and stormwater pipes will be replaced. During construction, Spokane Falls Blvd. from Division to Sherman streets will be closed. The detour is Sherman St. onto Martin Luther King Jr. Way. This work is being done as part of the larger plan to make the Riverpoint Campus in the University District more pedestrian friendly by adding traffic calming features and moving through traffic onto Martin Luther King Jr. Way. The $1.16 million project is funded by federal funds.
• A project to repair Cook St. from Empire to Rich avenues using a grind and overlay treatment and associated stormwater repairs also starts today. Cook St. from Empire to Rich avenues will be closed.The $160,240 project is being funded by the Transportation Benefit District and the City Wastewater Department.

Snoqualmie Closing Earlier For Rock Blasting

Washington State Department of Transportation  (WSDOT) crews will be closing Interstate 90 over Snoqualmie Pass 30 minutes earlier from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. for rock blasting this week. The pass will be closed from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m., Monday, Aug. 6, through Thursday, Aug. 9, from Hyak (milepost 54) to the Price Creek Sno-Park (milepost 61).

You also need to plan for added travel time due to increased construction activity and rolling slowdowns Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.