U.S. 12 Landslide Pictures

The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) has posted some pretty cool pictures on their blog of the landslide that wiped out a 500-foot section of U.S. 12 over White Pass.

Check them out here.

Joint Transportation Open House Tomorrow

Okay, I mean it this time. This is your (second to) last reminder that your presence is requested at a joint open house hosted by SRTC, Spokane Transit and the City of Spokane tomorrow.

The multi-agency open house on the future of regional transportation is Thursday, October 10, 2013, from 4:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at WSU Riverpoint Campus in the Phase 1 Classroom Building at 668 N. Riverpoint Boulevard.

It will offer participants an opportunity to review, and give input on, long term planning efforts and potential transportation projects currently under study.

STA will present an updated version of their comprehensive plan, Connect Spokane, which defines High Performance Transit (HPT) and outlines the vision for the HPT Network.

We will be presenting Horizon 2040, which examines the condition of our existing transportation system; forecasts the demand expected to be put on the system in the future; and identifies transportation goals and objectives for the future, as well as strategies to reach them.

And the City of Spokane will be on hand to present information about their comprehensive plan as well, focusing on its transportation element update.

Angry Truckers Plan Slowdown To Protest Govt. Shutdown; A Lot of Other Stuff

Now you have an additional reason, besides all the usual ones, to be thankful you don't have to drive on Washington, D.C. roadways.

Angry truckers are planning a slowdown on the freeway as part of a three-day protest to "shut down America" and "restore our Constitutional Republic." Among other things, the truckers are mad about low wages, fuel prices, regulations, the government shutdown, the debt ceiling, President Obama and "the corruption that is destroying America." I guess that pretty much covers it huh?

Here's how they plan to express their rage, which will probably enrage other drivers more than anyone else.

It's Rideshare Month and Week!

Hey did you know it's not only National Rideshare Month, but October 7-11 is Rideshare Week? So you know what to do- share a ride. By doing so, you can win some nice prizes through Spokane County's Commute Trip Reduction program. Here's the link to their website so you can find out more about the program. And it doesn't have to be just car or vanpooling. Your efforts to reduce driving alone, such as riding the bus, telecommuting, walking or riding your bike also make you eligible for prizes!

 

Mayor's Proposed 2014 Budget Calls For Additional $ For Street Maintenance

During the annual budget presentation at last night's City Council meeting, Spokane Mayor David Condon declared the City on solid footing and positioned to meet future needs.

He provided a line-item budget proposal that includes 25 new police officers, restoring fire response capability at Station 9 by adding four new positions and putting $2.5 million more into street maintenance (there's the hook right there, in my opinion).

 

Condon says he built this budget based on what he's heard from citizens at public meetings, block parties and conversations over coffee. That includes a continued emphasis on public safety, street improvements and getting to a cleaner Spokane River faster and more affordably.

That input has helped sharpen the focus on timing construction projects with necessary infrastructure enhancements to minimize the impact to homeowners and avoid additional project costs. It has also helped broaden the City’s definition of streets from one that just considers the variety of mobility uses to a three-dimensional view that also includes below-ground connectivity for water, wastewater and stormwater.

 
A complete copy of the line-item budget is available at MySpokaneBudget.org.

All the Highlights Of Horizon 2040 In A New Video!

Have I mentioned just how much I love those guys at the Cable 5 channel at the City of Spokane? They're always willing to work with me on putting together videos for our projects and always do a fantastic job. Eric dealt with my endless edits to produce this beauty about our Horizon 2040 plan. So now, if you'd prefer, you can watch a video with highlights from the plan instead of reading about it.

Joint Transportation Open House This Week

No plans Thursday night? Well you have some now! Everyone is invited to a multi-agency open house on the future of regional transportation, Thursday, October 10, 2013, from 4:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at WSU Riverpoint Campus in the Phase 1 Classroom Building at 668 N. Riverpoint Boulevard.

SRTC is co-hosting this event with Spokane Transit Authority (STA) and the City of Spokane. It will offer participants an opportunity to review, and give input on, long term planning efforts and potential transportation projects currently under study.

STA will present an updated version of their comprehensive plan, Connect Spokane, which defines High Performance Transit (HPT) and outlines the vision for the HPT Network.

We will be presenting Horizon 2040, which examines the condition of our existing transportation system; forecasts the demand expected to be put on the system in the future; and identifies transportation goals and objectives for the future, as well as strategies to reach them.

And the City of Spokane will be on hand to present information about their comprehensive plan as well, focusing on its transportation element update.

 

Policy Board Meeting This Thursday, Oct. 10

Another month has passed already and it's time for the October meeting of the SRTC Policy Board. The Board meets this Thursday, October 10 at 1 p.m. here in the SRTC office, 221 W. First Ave., Suite 310, Spokane, WA.

The meeting agenda can be found here. And as always, everyone is welcome to attend Board meetings so if you can take the time, please come on down.

MAP-21 Could Be Threatened By Proposed Budget Deal

The government shutdown continues and people are starting to get seriously irritated now.
But one of the proposals to end the shutdown could threaten funding to MAP-21, the federal surface transportation act. About 18 Representatives are proposing to repeal the medical device tax, a provision within the ACA (“Obamacare”) legislation. If that happens, MAP-21 could be impacted by the mechanism to replace the revenue lost by repealing the tax.

Transportation Issues Daily attempts to get to the bottom of this proposal.

Local Road Construction Update

WSDOT

SR 904 Congestion- On Saturday, October 5, expect congestion on Interstate 90 and SR 904 between Spokane and Cheney as fans travel to and from the EWU Eagle football game.

SR 27/32^nd Ave. to Trent Ave.- Grind out top layer of roadway and resurface with Hot Mix Asphalt. Construct ADA sidewalk ramps.

SR 291/Division Street to the Stevens County Line- Grind out top layer of roadway and resurface with Hot Mix Asphalt. Construct ADA sidewalk ramps.

North Spokane Corridor/Francis Avenue Bridge and Intersection Improvements- Expect congestion and long delays near the Francis Ave./Market Street intersection and the Francis Ave./Freya Street intersection, especially during the morning and afternoon commute hours. In addition, westbound drivers on Francis should be alert for flaggers near the BNSF railway crossing.

I-90/Latah Creek Bridge & Downtown Spokane Viaduct- Through 3 p.m. today, Thursday, October 3, drivers on eastbound and/or westbound I-90 in downtown Spokane should be alert for lane closures on the Latah Creek bridge and downtown overhead freeway viaduct with possible congestion and slower traffic. Crews are doing routine bridge inspection and bridge joint repairs.

I-90/Division Street to Liberty Park- Replace conduit, poles, wiring, and light fixtures including installing luminaires on I-90 from Latah Creek to the Hamilton Interchange.

I-90 Westbound/Liberty Lake-Harvard Road Interchange Roundabout- I-90 westbound drivers exiting at Liberty Lake should be alert for congestion, backups, and delays on the westbound off ramp. Drivers on Harvard Road should be alert for lane restrictions, rough roadway, slow traffic, and congestion with possible delays. Southbound Harvard Rd. is reduced to one lane. Mission Ave. is open.

US 195/Cheney-Spokane Road Interchange- Be alert for northbound and/or southbound lane restrictions during evening and overnight hours. Northbound US 195 is reduced to one lane in the vicinity of Cheney-Spokane Road. Northbound drivers need to use Qualchan Road to access Cheney-Spokane Road. Northbound drivers should be alert for possible congestion and slowing traffic. The southbound off ramp to Cheney-Spokane Road is now closed so drivers need to be alert for southbound highway traffic slowing to make right turns into Cheney-Spokane Road.

SPOKANE VALLEY 14^th Ave from Custer to Carnahan - lane restrictions from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. until October 14 for a stormwater upgrade project. 

Adams from Trent to Wellesley - Closed to traffic around the clock until the end of October for sidewalk improvements.  Drivers are redirected via Evergreen or Progress. 

Indiana between Pines Rd and Mirabeau Pkwy - Reduced to one lane each direction until late-October for street resurfacing.

Sullivan Road at the Spokane River bridges - Reduced to one lane each direction starting Monday, October 7 at 6 a.m. until late October.

Wellesley between St. Charles Rd and Larch Rd - Narrowed lanes, delays, and parking restrictions until the end of October for sidewalk updates and improvements.

SPOKANE CITY
Greene St. Bridge Work- A project to increase the life of the Greene Street Bridge over the Spokane River is under way.  Through mid-October, anticipate lane restrictions on the bridge and on Greene Street between South Riverton Avenue and Upriver Drive. The work on the bridge will improve its load rating, allowing larger trucks and loads to use the bridge.  The project includes installing fiber-reinforced polymer to the bridge deck and floor beams.  Additionally, utility conduit will be installed along the underside of the bridge and other related work will be completed. 
 
Maple St. Bridge Work Starts Tuesday- Bridge crews will close one south bound lane Tuesday, October 8 through Thursday, October 10, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Stevens St. Lane Closure- Stevens Street between Main and Riverside Ave. will have two southbound lanes closed 24 hours a day for Avista work through Monday, October 14.

Wall St. Closure Saturday- Wall Street between Sprague and 1^st avenues will have full closure, Saturday, October 5, 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. for work at 705 west 1^st Avenue.

Crestline Rehabilitation Project Nearly Finished- Paving is currently underway.  This project replaces the water main in Crestline from 37^th to 57^th avenues; provide curb-to-curb rehabilitation of the street from 44^th to 53^rd avenues; and add bike lanes, sidewalks and stormwater swales along the 44^th to 53^rd avenue stretch. 

Rockwood Blvd. Rehabilitation Nearing Completion- Paving begins next week with the project being substantially complete in the next two weeks weather permitting.  A project to rehabilitate Rockwood Boulevard from Cowley to Southeast Boulevard and Upper Terrace Road from Rockwood Boulevard to 17th Avenue continues.

14th Ave. from Lincoln to Grand- This project, to rehabilitate 14^th Avenue from Lincoln to Grand Boulevard. Paving of 14^th from Grand to just west of Division, is substantially complete.  The street is paved and open to traffic.

Traffic Calming Work- Work on a variety of improvements to promote traffic calming throughout the City has begun and will continue through October. The following streets are affected:
 

o   Illinois – Signs and striping

o   Mission, Cook and Regal – Ramps and striping

o   Manito Boulevard and 29^th – Ramps and striping

o   37^th from Bernard to Browne - Sidewalks

o   Maple from 8^th to 9^th  - Bumpouts

o   Adams Street from Montgomery to Mansfield – Sidewalks and ADA ramps

o   Horizon Avenue and F Street – Sidewalks and ADA ramps

o   Maple Street from Chelan to Fairview – Sidewalks and ADA ramps

o   Ash Street from Fairview to Cleveland – Sidewalks and ADA ramps

Liberty St. Construction- Construction to rehabilitate Liberty from Oak Street to Ash Place and Ash Place from Liberty to Dalton is beginning.  The road is closed with local access only.

Post St. Closure- Post Street near City Hall will close for Avista work on City Hall Plaza and new crossing work between City Hall Plaza and Riverfront Park.  Crews will use this closure to work on sidewalks at the southwest corner of the Post Street bridge, a new Centennial Trail connection into Riverfront Park, additional sidewalk work on the west side of Post Street and for the re-striping of Post street.

Fiske St. Construction- This project will pave Fiske Street from 19th to 17th avenues, install curbs, sidewalks and ADA curb ramps, where   needed, and replace current or install new stormwater drainage, where needed.  The project will place pavement between the existing curbs on Fiske from 17^th to 18^th and install new curbs and sidewalks, and pave on Fiske from 18^th to 19^th.  Fiske is closed between 17^th  and 19^th streets.

Third Ave. from Division to Arthur- Work to rehabilitate Third Avenue from Division east to Arthur is currently being paved.  Arthur and Sherman continue to be the detour route with periodic closures on one or the other street as needed.  The project also includes replacing a 12-inch water main.  Local access to businesses will be maintained.  Work will continue into October.

Euclid Ave. Water Main Project- This project will replace the current 28-inch water main with a 30-inch water main in Euclid Avenue.  The new main will begin at Euclid & Mayfair and continue to Crestline, with a jog to the north around Gonzaga Prep High School. Local access only on Euclid from Nevada to Mayfair and on Dalton from Crestline to Perry.

SPOKANE COUNTY
Farwell Rd. from Market to North Spokane Corridor- Closed for fall.

Bruce Rd., Peone to Day Mt. Spokane Road- Road is open on weekends, closed during the week.

Pittsburg Rd at intersection with US 2- Closed for sewer work.

Johansen Road, from Prairie View Elementary to Northview Lane- Closed for sidewalk installation and road widening.

Public Offers Varied Input At Transportation Listening Session

Public testimony at a listening session on transportation issues last night before state legislators offered contrasting views on how to fund and build Washington’s transportation system on limited funds and dropping gas tax revenues.

While some called for a transportation funding package funded by higher taxes, others said don’t raise the gas tax, but do a better job of spending the money already collected.

About 300 people attended and 100 testified, including Shawn Dobbs of the Inland Northwest Lighthouse, who is also a member of our Transportation Advisory Committe.
Here's the Spokesman-Review's writeup of last night's events.

A Crazy Number of Bangladeshis Try to Get Home Following Ramadan Using Any Method They Can

I don't want to hear anyone complain about having to stand on the bus the rest of the day. This is some crazy video out of Bangladesh as thousands of people cram into ferries and trains to return to their home villages following the holy month of Ramadan.

The amount of people on the trains is truly astonishing. Guess folks there aren't familiar with the word "liability." And, oh yeah, sorry but you have to watch a short commercial before the video will start :(

Bicycle Advisory Board Members Needed

The City of Spokane is seeking to fill four open positions on the Bicycle Advisory Board (BAB). Members of the BAB provide advice and direction on matters relating to bicycling and to raising public awareness of bicycling issues. More info on the BAB can be found here. And you can fill out an application to be on the Board here.

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....

 

Council Extends Red Light Camera Program

Spokane's controversial red light cameras will be around for a while. After five years in use in the City of Spokane, the City Council Monday night voted to extend the program for another five years.

The cameras are set up at major intersections throughout the city and take a picture of anyone who runs a red light. Since the program began five years ago, nearly 50,000 citations have been issued with a net revenue of nearly $2 million dollars, according to the Spokane Police Department. A ticket from one of the cameras will run you $124.

Get Your Thoughts to Us on the Transportation Improvement Program By Friday

A reminder that time is running out if you would like to let us know your thoughts on the draft 2014-2017 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP). The TIP

is a document that describes the schedule for obligating federal funds to state and local projects over the next four years.

 

In other words, it's a list of the projects that will get funding in the near future. Why should you care? Because a project you may think is a priority may not be on there. Or there may be a project on the list that you think isn't the best use of tax dollars. So it's your call. Look through it here, then give us your thoughts. Instructions are also at the link on how to submit comments.

 

Hurry though, the deadline to comment is 4 p.m. this Friday, Oct. 4.

 

 

Elected Officials Opt to Forgo Pay During Govt Shutdown

So far, three members of Washington state's congressional delegation say they will give up their pay during the current federal government shutdown, according to KREM 2 News.

U.S. Reps. Derek Kilmer and Suzan DelBene, both Democrats, and Republican Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, all confirmed Tuesday they will forego their salaries for the duration of the shutdown. Members of the House and Senate make $174,000 a year.

While the three will automatically be paid during the time, they will return the amount equitable to their salary to the U.S. Department of Treasury. Since March, DelBene has been returning 8.2% of her salary, about $2,300 a month, to Treasury in response to across-the-board budget cuts, known as sequestration, that were done earlier this year.

Don't Forget to Record Your Bike's Serial Number!

I saw this item on the Spokane Bicycle Club website and it struck a note with me because I've been seeing some posts on Facebook pop up recently from people complaining that their bikes have been stolen.

The Spokane Police Department would like to remind citizens to write down serial numbers for bicycles and other high value items. Officers routinely contact suspects with suspicious items they believe are stolen, but if they haven't been reported stolen with the serial number, it is difficult to make an arrest. Spokane COPS offers free bicycle registration. For more information visit their website at: http://www.spokanecops.org/bicycle-registration.

Government Shutdown Closes Popular D.C. Bike Trail

Here's a side effect of the government shutdown that never occured to me- a popular bike trail, used heavily by bike commuters, is shut down because it's managed by the National Park Service, which has had to shut down all National Parks.

The Capital Crescent Trail is the most heavily-used rail-trail in the United States, with over a million users a year.

Apparently a lot of bicyclists aren't letting a chain across the trail deter them and they're just going around it to continue to use the trail.

DC Streetsblog has the story.

 

WSDOT Gearing Up For Winter Snow Removal

Grumble, grumble. I hate writing this post every year when I get this email from the Washington State Deparment of Transportation.
With winter just around the corner, crews from the WSDOT Eastern Region (our area), are getting prepared to handle snow and ice control duties.  About 200 crew members working two shifts, seven days per week are assigned to the 1,600 miles of state highways in the seven northeastern counties in the state.  The Region snow and ice control cost is about $13.7 million for the two-year budget cycle.

Snow and ice control crews and equipment are based at 20 locations throughout the Region.  The crews use nearly 100 truck-mounted snowplows, most of which include a system to spread sand or de-icer.  There are also 14 liquid anti-ice chemical trucks. 

 

During the winter shift schedule, which starts in mid to late November, maintenance teams are normally on duty from around 4:00 a.m. to midnight or later.