Politics from the Palouse to Puget Sound

Wednesday, July 12, 2006

Bored of the Ring

From today's Moscow-Pullman Daily News:
The city of Pullman will take its first steps toward relieving traffic congestion on Military Hill with a study of possible routes for a ring road around the northwest sector of town.

...

The ring road study is expected to cost $35,000 and will look at possible routes looping around the base of Military Hill from North Grand Avenue to Davis Way. The goal is to reduce traffic on Northwest Larry Street, which some residents have complained is becoming more clogged as housing developments are built near Pullman High School. The money for the study will come from the arterial street fund.
What a waste of time and money. This is a solution in search of a problem, started by an overreaction to an icy intersection last winter. I have lived in one of those "housing developments near Pullman High School" for years, and if I am ever behind more than one or two cars on Larry Street, it's a miracle. There is no "Military Hill traffic problem." Just get rid of the on-street parking by the high school and Voila, $35,000 has just been saved!

If the city is looking to burn money, how about more parking downtown, or relieving congestion at Grand and Davis Way, or at the allegedly dangerous Bishop Blvd. and Grand intersection?

1 comment:

April E. Coggins said...

I would prefer they use the $35,000.00 toward development of the south by-pass. Plot it out, zone it C-3 large commercial and watch the development dollars roll in. It needs to be designed specifically for large commercial strip retail.