Player Blogs About Game Experience

Sorry folks, but you timed out as far as playing the Transportation Planning game. Our consultant team removed the link to it early this morning. We had one late-night player last night though, and she not only played the game, but documented her choices and reasoning on her own blog. Here's a link to it if you want to check it out.

Some Local Rail History

I'm being evicted from my office. No, I haven't been fired (not that anyone has told me anyway), but I am being moved out of my office so the boss lady can have it. Instead of moving five years worth of junk to a new office, I've been going through it getting rid of stuff. During the cleaning process, I found the picture below in my file cabinet. I have no idea where it came from. I've seen a lot of old pictures of Spokane, but never that one. I thought it was pretty cool because it shows the old rail yard through what is now Riverfront Park. While we still see lots of trains come through here, the need for a rail yard has greatly diminished as most of those trains are just passing through.

Happy Birthday You Old Airbag!

Although perhaps not as influential as the seatbelt, the airbag’s contribution to vehicle safety is significant – and it's being recognized this week because it's the 30th birthday of the airbag.

Here are some airbag 'fun facts:'

- The first car to have an airbag was a Mercedes.
- The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) say airbags have saved more than 28,000 lives in the US alone
- The control systems for airbags have the processing power of the ‘supercomputers’ used in space exploration 25 years ago

Want to know more about airbags? You asked for it, from Traffic Technology Today.

Street Signs Taking Wintery Weather Hard

With all the snow lately, there have been some 'silent victims' of the dozens of slide offs, fender benders and collisions. That's right, street signs. They're taking a beating in this weather. But don't feel bad if you hit one. You won't face legal problems. The City of Spokane just wants you to let them know so they can replace it quickly and avoid legal issues of their own. KXLY news has the story.

Last Chance To Play Planning Game

Okay, I mean it this time. If you haven't played the Transportation Planning Game, this is literally your last chance. The game is online until around 5 p.m. tonight, SO GET ON THERE AND PLAY IT IF YOU HAVEN'T YET. Here's the link. Get going now.

No Bricklayer Required For This Brick Road

Spokane has some really cool brick roads under the current pavement. Bricks are beautiful and durable, so why don't they make roads out of them any longer? Because it takes a huge effort to produce them.

The invention of a new machine that rolls out an almost 'instant road' could change all that though. Here's how the 'Tiger-Stone' works.

Valley Snow Removal Plan In Effect

It was two years ago when the City of Spokane Valley lost its' contract with Spokane County to do their snow removal. We didn't have much snow last year so it wasn't much of an issue. But now that we're getting dumped on, how is the City of Spokane Valley keeping up with snow removal? Pretty well,
according to this Spokane Valley Herald article.

I drive through the Valley on a pretty regular basis and haven't noticed any major snow problems recently. Any Valley residents have any input?

Winter Driving Tips

Slow down, turn into your skid, and tell someone about your travel plans and your estimated time of arrival. Those are just a couple of the winter driving tips in today's 'Getting There' column from the Spokesman-Review.

Spokane City and County Snow Update

From Spokane County:

Spokane County Road Crews have finished plowing and sanding emergency routes, primary arterials, most secondary roads, and have now started working to clear hills and residential areas.

Crews are working 12-hour shifts around the clock to cover all 2,500 miles of road in the County. The goal is to finish all of the residential areas before the next storm arrives tonight. For more information on snow removal on County roads, click here.

From the City of Spokane:

The City of Spokane continues to work under a Stage 2 Snow Emergency, which means City crews will work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week until they complete a full City plow that includes all residential areas. Crews anticipate finishing work in the residential areas by early Tuesday, just in time for the next round of snow.

The City will plow Browne’s Addition on Tuesday and Wednesday, Nov. 30 and Dec. 1. North-south streets are planned for Tuesday and east-west streets on Wednesday. Because streets in Browne’s Addition are very narrow, all cars must be moved to accommodate the plows. Cars that aren’t moved will be towed.

Click here to check the progress of City plows. Residents can type in their address on the top of the snow plowing progress map to get a closer look at their area.

Car Warming Up 'Borrowed'

You here it every year, DON'T LEAVE YOUR CAR UNATTENDED WHILE WARMING IT UP. Here's why: A Coeur d'Alene man recently caught up to his car as it was leaving his driveway, to be told by the young man inside that he was 'borrowing it.' Yeah, I've heard that one before.

Here's what happened, from the Coeur d'Alene Press.

Travel Expected To Be Up This Holiday Weekend

Travel nationwide over the Thanksgiving holiday is expected to increase by more than 11 percentthis year.

AAA is predicting over 42 million people will take to the roads, rails and skies this week. Here are the numbers from the Spokesman-Review.

Holiday Closures

Here's your usual reminder that, due to the holiday tomorrow, all local government offices will be closed Thursday and Friday.

That includes SRTC, Spokane City Hall, Spokane Valley City Hall, Liberty Lake City Hall, any other local City hall, Municipal Court, and all Spokane County offices, including Superior and District Court.

The good news though is that if you're downtown on Friday, you don't have to plug parking meters. Normal meter use rules apply the rest of the weekend.

Any remaining road construction work was suspended at noon today so as to not slow down holiday travel traffic.

Afternoon Roadways Updates

I just received updates from the City of Spokane, Spokane County and the Washington State Department of Transportation on the snow situation. Here's the County's latest:

Last night's snow and wind caused 8-10 foot drifts in parts of southern Spokane County. Fortunately, the snow's powdery consistency made it relatively easy for road crews to plow. This afternoon, crews are working 12 hours shifts to clear more than 2,500 miles of road with approximately 80 pieces of equipment. Crews have finished primary arterials and are making progress on secondary roads and hills. With more snow in the forecast this week, they will have to return to plowing primary arterials, etc. and it may take several days before all of the residential areas are cleared.

Crews are working with plows, sanding trucks and graders – but current temperatures are too cold for liquid de-icer to be effective. Granular de-icer is being combined with sand and applied in high-volume intersections.

The public can assist snow removal efforts by moving cars off of streets and roads.

And the City's:

City crews have made great progress today, and the City expects to have Stage 1 Snow Emergency lifted overnight after crews complete the full plow of the arterials and bus routes.

And WSDOT's:

Although WSDOT crews are out in force clearing roadways, they cannot be everywhere at once and there are some roadways with compact snow and ice. Drivers should be prepared, carry chains, slow down and schedule extra time to reach your destination safely. Slow down when approaching intersections, off-ramps, bridges or shady spots. These all have potential to develop black ice that makes driving hazardous.

And It Begins

The City of Spokane just put out their weekly update of construction projects, weather closures, areas to avoid, etc. and the item below was included. It's officially that time of year now.

Shoppers leaving the River Park Square parking garage during the holiday season may experience longer than normal wait times due to traffic back-ups. Additionally, motorists near City Hall and the garage exit may also experience longer wait times. Flaggers will direct traffic. The holiday flagger schedule is as follows:

o Friday, Nov. 26: 5 to 9 p.m.
o Saturday, Nov. 27: 3 to 9 p.m.
o Friday, Dec. 17: 5 to 9 p.m.
o Saturday, Dec. 18: 5 to 9 p.m.
o Thursday, Dec. 23: 5 to 9 p.m.
o Sunday, Dec. 26: 1 to 6 p.m.


Shoppers and motorists near NorthTown Mall during the holiday season may experience delays due to traffic back-ups. Flaggers will direct traffic. The holiday flagger schedule is as follows:

o Friday, Nov. 26: 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
o Saturday, Nov. 27: 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
o Saturday, Dec. 11: 4 to 8 p.m.
o Sunday, Dec. 12: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
o Monday, Dec. 13, to Tuesday, Dec. 21: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
o Wednesday, Dec. 22: 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
o Thursday & Friday, Dec. 23 & 24: 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.
o Saturday, Jan. 1: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

SRTC Special Board Meeting

The SRTC Board has called a special Board Meeting for Monday, November 29 at 9 a.m. here at SRTC.  The meeting will move directly into an Executive Session to discuss the performance of a public employee. Board action may be taken following the Executive Session.

Council Talks Impact Fees Again

The Spokane City Council is considering impact fees again. It was originally agreed two years ago to collect one-time impact fees from developers of projects that generate additional traffic demands on City facilities, but has been on hold since then. A new version of the the fees being considered would require schools, low-income housing projects, homeless shelters, hospitals and governments to also pay the fees.

Here's what's under consideration from the Spokesman-Review.

Most Wanted List- Of Improvements To Keep You Safe

The National Transportation Safety Board has released a list of critical transportation improvements they feel are needed to reduce transportation accidents and save lives.

The NTSB is an independent agency charged with determining the probable cause of transportation accidents and promoting transportation safety. The Board investigates accidents, conducts safety studies, and evaluates the effectiveness of other government agencies' programs for preventing transportation accidents.

The Board develops safety recommendations, based on its investigations and studies, which are issued to Federal, State and local government agencies, and to industry and other organizations in a position to improve transportation safety.

Here are their most recent recommendations. Check them out and let me know if you agree with all of their suggestions. For instance, one item on their list is statewide sobriety checkpoints, which some people feel violates their right to not be stopped without probably cause. They also suggest 'reducing rear-end collisions through use of adaptive cruise control and collision warning system technologies.' Sounds great, but are the car manufacturers going to agree to something that will cost them more?

Road Closures And WSDOT Requests

Here are road closures this morning due to low visibility and/or blowing snow:

- Highway 27 (Spokane and Whitman counties)
- Highway 21 (Lind to Wilbur)
- Highway 261 (Interstate 90 to Highway 26)
- State Highway 28 that runs from Davenport through Odessa in Lincoln County to Ephrata.
- State Highway 23 near Harrington
- U.S. Highway 195 from Colfax to Idaho state line southeast of Uniontown has reopened this morning, but chains are required.

Because of all these closures, the Washington State Department of Transportation is asking drivers to please delay their Thanksgiving weekend travel plans if they can until the weather lets up.

The forecast calls for snow on I-90 over Snoqualmie Pass all week. WSDOT advises motorists to consider leaving early, Wednesday, Nov. 24, and returning later, Monday, Nov. 29.

WSDOT is ready for the expected increased traffic for the Thanksgiving holiday and wants you to be too. So check roadway and pass conditions before leaving, and pack winter weather supplies, including tire chains.

City Declares 'Stage 1 Snow Emergency'

The City of Spokane has called a 'Stage 1 Snow Emergency,' which requires cars to be moved from all arterials and STA fixed bus routes within six hours.

Under the City’s snow removal plan, officials can call for such an emergency when there is at least 2 inches of snow on the ground and four or more in the forecast. A Stage 1 Snow Emergency does not trigger plowing in residential areas.

All arterials and bus routes were plowed yesterday and City crews are working on them again now. They expect to finish this round of arterial plowing late today. After that they'll tackle secondary arterials and fixed STA bus routes.

The City currently has more than 20 plows out. Night crew members were kept late, and morning staff was called in early to have 24-hour coverage during the current storm. You can follow the progress of the plows on the City's website.

If you're literally following a plow, don't follow too closely and don't try to pass them; as it's VERY dangerous.

Only 1 More Week To Play Transportation Planning Game

Okay folks, your time is running out to express your opinion on the future of transportation in Spokane. You've only got one more week to play 'A Thousand Visions- A Transportation Planning Game.'

The game is part of our Transportation Vision Project that is aimed at developing a long term transportation plan for all of Spokane County, including an implementation plan. It's online here, on the Transportation Vision Project website.

The game lets you decide how much you're willing to be taxed, which dictates how much money you have to spend on transportation 'improvements.' From there, you work through a list of possible future projects and 'fund' the ones that are a priority.

Results from the game will give us an idea how people want their transportation dollars spent in the future. The game is online through Monday, Nov. 29. I figure it's kind of like voting; if you don't do it, you can't complain later if things don't go your way.

And don't forget that there's something in it for you. If you complete the game in its entirety, your name goes into a drawing for a TomTom GPS unit.