Deadline Approaching to Apply For Transportation Advisory Committee

Don't forget- the deadline is coming up to apply to be on our Transportation Advisory Committee. The last day to apply is Saturday, Nov. 30. All the info you need is here.

Food Is Fare For Salt Lake City's New Streetcar

Everyone wins in this situation! Got a can or box of food? Then you've got fare to ride Salt Lake City's new streetcar. To celebrate the opening of the S-Line, the Utah Transit Authority is charging passengers a nonperishable food item to ride the streetcar when it first opens on December 7.

Here's more on the new streetcar line.

Spokane City's Construction/Obstruction Update

Riverpark Square Holiday Lane Closure- Every Holiday season River Park Square closes one westbound lane and provides flagging operation to allow vehicles to leave the parking garage just west of Post Street.  Here is this year’s schedule:

§  Friday, November 29, 2013 (2 p.m. – 8 p.m.) – BLACK FRIDAY
§  Saturday, November 30, 2013 (1 p.m. – 7 p.m.)
§  Friday, December 13, 2013 (2 p.m. – 7 p.m.)
§  Saturday, December 14, 2013 (2 p.m. – 7 p.m.)
§  Friday, December 20, 2013 (2 p.m. – 7 p.m.)
§  Saturday, December 21, 2013 (2 p.m. – 7 p.m.)
§  Monday, December 23, 2013 (1 p.m. – 6 p.m.)
§  Tuesday, December 24, 2013 (1 p.m. – 7 p.m.) – Christmas Eve
§  Thursday, December 26, 2013 (2 p.m. – 7 p.m.)

Greene St. Bridge Work-A project to increase the life of the Greene Street Bridge over the Spokane River is under way. 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.

Post St. Open- Post Street near City Hall is open as a one-way northbound street.  Parallel and diagonal parking is available.  The meters next to City Hall are 2 hour meters.

Monroe St. Closure- North Monroe Street will have a southbound lane closure at Bridge Avenue through November 29, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. for street work on the Kendall Yards development.

Centennial Trail Closure- Part of the Centennial Trail on the north side of the Spokane River from Division Street east will be closed November 11 – 29.  Pedestrians will be re-routed north using the sidewalk along the eastside of Division Street and through the Red Lion Hotel Property.  The work will remove and replace deck boards, fascia boards and pedestrian rails.

All Government Offices Closed Thursday and Friday

It's that time again. In observance of the Thanksgiving holiday, all local government offices will be closed on Thursday and Friday, Nov. 28 and 29.

Parking meters don’t have to be plugged parking meters on Thanksgiving Day, but go back to normal operation on Friday and the rest of the weekend.

 

All of us government workers will be back in our offices Monday, Dec. 2 so either get your government business done tomorrow or wait until Monday.

 

 

 

City Contemplates Giving Parking Offenders the "Boot"

Call me lowbrow but one of my favorite episodes of the Simpsons is where Homer wracks up a mess of parking tickets and gets a boot put on his car. Well, guess what folks? It could happen here. Spokane City officials are considering getting tough with repeat parking offenders by bringing back the "boot" after 25 years.

For those who are too young to remember or not sophisticated enough to enjoy the Simpsons, the boot is a device placed on a car's wheel that immobilizes it. Apparently we have a problem with parking tickets in this town. A spokesperson says there are people with more than 200 tickets who are still using city streets to park. And not paying for it.

The Spokesman-Review has the story.

Dad Arrested For Having The Nerve To Try To Pick Up Kids From School On Foot

This is absolutely ludicrous. A Tennessee father was arrested recently- for picking his children up at school by foot. The school’s policy is that children can either ride the school bus or be picked up by parents in cars. The line of cars to pick up kids though was over a mile long, and causing safety issues by blocking a highway, so Jim Howe got the crazy idea that he'd walk to pick his 8 and 14-year-old up. Well, considering that the school employs Roscoe P. Coltrane as a resource officer, that didn't go over too well.

Here's the video of what happened.
And here's more info on this case in case you're interested.

Already A Favorite, the Honda Accord is Chosen As "Green Car of the Year"

The car honored as the “Green Car of the Year” for 2014 is kind of a surprise because it's a tried and true favorite already. 

In recent years, Green Car Journal honored cars whose selling points were emerging technologies including natural gas, electric and clean diesel but this year the prize went to the Honda Accord, because it's price and good gas mileage help make a widespread, positive impact on the environment.

The Down to Earth Northwest Blog has the story.

More Centennial Trail News, Holiday Travel and Buses On Holiday Schedules

It is apparently Centennial Trail day in Spokane as this is the second Centennial Trail story I will have posted in five minutes (see previous item below).

After a year of studying how to improve safety for trail users, it's been determined that the best way to get across Mission Avenue would be a new pedestrian bridge. So how much would that cost and what's the likelihood of getting the money?

In other news, AAA says travel over the Thanksgiving holiday is expected to decline from last year, extra law enforcement patrols will be looking for impaired drivers and Spokane Transit buses will operate on a holiday schedule Thursday.

The Spokesman-Review's "Getting There" column has all your transportation happenings for this week.

City Council Expected to Vote To Build Missing Link In Centennial Trail

Today could be a big day for the Centennial Trail, as the Spokane City Council is expected to approve a project to extend the trail from where it ends at Kendall Yards to Boone Avenue.

The Spokesman-Review has a look at the proposed route of the new trail section, and a some insight into what other future improvements to the trail might look like.

Article Chronicles Area Traffic Deaths In Recent Months

An article in the Inlander this week chronicles several deaths on area highways in the last couple months and talks about the heavy toll of America's roadways.

It's these deaths and collisions that were the impetus for the Target Zero campaign in Washington State, a program to reduce deaths on the road. While the group behind Target Zero has been very proactive, I have heard recently that their efforts haven't had a big impact and they're going back to the drawing board to determine new ways to prioritizes traffic safety needs and objectives, identify effective strategies, guide government investment in traffic safety, and encourages partnerships to make the best use of resources.

The Inlander article is here.

Lots of Discussion, But No Conclusion, On State Transportation Package

A proposed transportation funding package that would raise the gas tax by 11.5 cents over three years and spend $12.3 billion on transportation projects and maintenance of existing structures warranted four hours of discussion yesterday by the Senate Transportation Committee but still no conclusion on moving it forward to the Senate in a special legislative session.
 
Dozens of representatives of businesses, social service groups and local governments testified on the plan at the meeting, including representatives from Cheney, who feel the SR 904 widening project should have been included in the proposal.

The Spokesman-Review has the story.

Local Road Construction Update

SPOKANE VALLEY
Westbound Mission Avenue just west of Thierman - Reduced to one lane Monday, November 25 through Wednesday, November 27 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. for utility work.

WSDOT
US195 and SR 27 Congestion- On Saturday, November 23, expect congestion on US 195 and SR 27 between Spokane and Pullman, plus SR 26 between Vantage and Colfax, as fans travel to and from the WSU Cougar football game.  Also on Saturday, November 23, expect congestion on Interstate 90 and SR 904 between Spokane and Cheney as fans travel to and from the EWU Eagle football game.  

North Spokane Corridor/Francis Avenue Bridge and Intersection Improvements- Traffic is running in the new winter configuration which has Market Street as single lanes each direction through the Market/Francis intersection on the west half of Market Street.  Francis Avenue is operating as single lanes each direction on the new bridge. No left turns are allowed at the intersection from Market Street to Francis Avenue. In addition, traffic on the east end of the project is running in the winter traffic configuration as well at the Francis/Freya intersection.  At and through that intersection, westbound traffic is in a single westbound lane. There are signs at the intersection to guide drivers over into the designated lane, but drivers need to be alert.

US 195/Cheney-Spokane Road Interchange- Northbound US 195 drivers need to be alert for slow traffic entering the highway left lane from Cheney-Spokane Road.  The dedicated northbound acceleration lane has been removed.  The northbound left turn lane remains closed and signed for no left turns. US 195 northbound drivers must  use Qualchan Road to access Cheney-Spokane Road.  The southbound off ramp to Cheney-Spokane Road is expected to open to traffic on Friday, November 22.  Signage will soon be installed on northbound US 195 drivers to encourage drivers to use the right lane to provide more traffic gaps for vehicles entering at Cheney-Spokane Road.  This temporary configuration will be in place during the winter work suspension to provide for the mainline lanes and intersection access for snow and ice clearing equipment.

CITY OF SPOKANE
Riverpark Square Westbound Lane Closure- Every Holiday season River Park Square closes one westbound lane and provides flagging operation to allow vehicles to leave the parking garage just west of Post Street.  Below find this year’s schedule:

§  Friday, November 22, 2013 (6 p.m. – 10 p.m.) – Santa’s Arrival
§  Friday, November 29, 2013 (2 p.m. – 8 p.m.) – BLACK FRIDAY
§  Saturday, November 30, 2013 (1 p.m. – 7 p.m.)
§  Friday, December 13, 2013 (2 p.m. – 7 p.m.)
§  Saturday, December 14, 2013 (2 p.m. – 7 p.m.)
§  Friday, December 20, 2013 (2 p.m. – 7 p.m.)
§  Saturday, December 21, 2013 (2 p.m. – 7 p.m.)
§  Monday, December 23, 2013 (1 p.m. – 6 p.m.)
§  Tuesday, December 24, 2013 (1 p.m. – 7 p.m.) – Christmas Eve
§  Thursday, December 26, 2013 (2 p.m. – 7 p.m.)

Greene Street Bridge Work- A project to increase the life of the Greene Street Bridge over the Spokane River is under way. 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. 

Monroe Street Lane Closure- North Monroe Street will have a southbound lane closure at Bridge Avenue November 4 to 29, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. for street work on the Kendall Yards development.

Centennial Trail Closure- Part of the Centennial Trail on the north side of the Spokane River from Division Street east is closed until Nov. 29.  Pedestrians are re-routed north using the sidewalk along the eastside of Division Street and through the Red Lion Hotel Property.  The work will remove and replace deck boards, fascia boards and pedestrian rails.

Liberty Street Construction- Construction to rehabilitate Liberty Street from Oak Street to Ash Place and Ash Place from Liberty to Dalton is underway.  The road is closed.

SPOKANE COUNTY
Farwell Road Opening- Farwell Road from Market to the North Spokane Corridor, will be striped next Tuesday, Nov. 26, then it opens to traffic on Nov. 27.

New Analysis of Bicycle In America Looks At Trends In Riding

A new report from the League of American Bicyclists looks at exactly where people ride in the U.S. and the trends in riding.

"Where We Ride: An Analysis of Bicycling in American Cities" looks at:

• The 25 American cities with the most bicycle commuters
• How all 50 states rank according to bicycle commuters as a share of all commuters
• How cities with a high percentage of bicycle commuters compare to other cities in their regions
• How cities compare based upon multimodal commuters, looking beyond just bikes to other forms of transportation that involve more physical activity, including walking and transit
• Cities where a majority of bicycle commuters are women

This report will be used to give cyclists, policy makers and the general public a better idea of the breadth and diversity of cities that are better than the national average for bike commuters as a share of all commuters. Here's the link to the report. Some interesting info is included in it, including how Washington ranks compared to other states.

Drive Less Experiment A Huge Success In OR

This would be cool to try in Washington, just to see how we'd do. The Oregon Department of Transportation's 12-day Drive Less Challenge, aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions and cutting down on roadway congestion, was WAY more succesful than initially expected.

 The twelve days resulted in an elimination of 652,960 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions and saved 33,608 gallons of gas and $223,479.

The campaign encouraged drivers to seek other forms of transportation, including walking, biking, taking public transportation, or carpooling. The American Association of State Highways and Officials has the numbers on how large of a margin the experiment exceeded it's goals by.

WSDOT Getting Out The (New) Big Guns This Winter

You may see a new tool being used to fight snow on area highways this winter. The Washington State Department of Transportation Eastern Region maintenance crew will be using an innovative “tow plow” on several highway sections for the first time. 

A tow plow is a plow mounted on a trailer pulled behind a standard truck-plow.  When the operator needs to plow two full lanes the tow plow is maneuvered to the right.  The trailer wheels shift to skew the trailer at an angle then the blade drops down, doubling the width of the plowing operation.

This saves time and fuel by being able to clear two lanes, or a lane and shoulder, in a single pass with one vehicle.  The tow plow also has a hopper and spreader that can place sand or de-icer at the same time.

The new unit will be based in the Spokane area and primarily used on Interstate 90, US 395, and the North Spokane Corridor.  This is the first tow plow operated by WSDOT.

Article Says Proposed Transportation Package Includes Everything the Public Doesn't Want

Click to view full size. At least I think it will work that way.

Yesterday I posted an editorial from the Spokesman-Review that said we should embrace the transportation package proposed by the Senate Majority Coalition Caucus because of funding included in it for the North Spokane Corridor.

Today I was sent this article from SightlineDaily that says the plan should be rejected because it includes everything the public doesn't want. According to Sightline, the funding package would spend three times more money on highway expansion and new roads than constituents claimed in a recent survey that they want. And that doesn't leave much money for anything else, like maintenance, safety improvements, transit/bike/pedestrian projects and more.
It's a tough choice here in Eastern Washingotn. We've been struggling for years to come up with money to build a new freeway and this could be our final chance at a large chunk of funding. But at the same time, when staff is out and about in the public, we hear lots of comments on how we need improvements to our transit sytem and sidewalks, etc. Thoughts on the topic?

 

Transportation Technical Committee Meeting One Day Early This Month

Due to Thanksgiving coming up, this month's Transportation Technical Committee (TTC) meeting date has been changed. Usually TTC meetings are held the fourth Wednesday of each month. As that would fall on the day before Thanksgiving this year, we moved the meeting a day earlier, to Tuesday, Nov. 26.

Here's a look at the agenda. Don't let the new date mess you up, come to the meeting anyway. It's really interesting stuff. Really, it is.

TN Girl Scouts Can Get Transportation Patch

In Tennessee, Girl Scouts can now get a patch in transportation. That's right, a patch. The patch teaches alternative methods of transportation such as walking, biking and using public transit. To get it, each Girl Scout must complete activity requirements that are appropriate to their age level.

Mass Transit has the story.

Need to Take Advantage of Proposed Transportation Package for the Sake of the NSC

An editorial in today's Spokesman-Review lays out what's included in a transportation funding package propsed the Washington State Majority Coalition Caucus. While not big on some of the new taxes included in the plan, the Spokesman says it supports it due to provisions included to finish the North Spokane Corridor. And because this could be the last bone the NSC gets thrown for quite a while.

Here's the editorial article.

Bus Driver Teaches Himself Sign Language To Communicate With Deaf Drivers

This is the coolest story I've seen in a long time. Queens, New York bus driver Edwin Cora is known for talking with his hands- literally. Cora is learning American Sign Language so he can communicate with his riders who are deaf.

Through a couple frustrating encounters with hearing impaired riders who needed directions, Cora got the idea to teach himself sign language. Now he has a bigger goal.

Here's his story from the Daily News.