TRAFFIC: Need updated lights

To the person who wrote about traffic and the poor traffic lights on U.S. 95, I have some bad news for you. First, I am surprised you did not get some snarky letter telling you to slow down or to get over your impatience. I am sure that is not the case with you as it is not with me.

I did road construction for 22 years in Illinois, north of Chicago. That area has five times as much traffic as this area. Despite this, traffic flows faster and more efficiently than it does on 95 here. The reason is that the traffic lights are state of the art.

I have observed the lights on 95 from I-90 through Hayden. They are 1980s technology, simple sensor loops for the turn lanes and timers for how long the lights stay green or red. This was fine 30 or 40 years ago but is abysmal for today. What are the results?

First you see people stopped at green lights during the middle of the day, not during the so-called rush hours, which must be much worse but I would not know since I won’t be on the roads at that time. The second result is much worse. Late yellow into red and blatant red light running. I drive every day and see red light running every day without fail. Usually I see three or four a day. I am talking the light is green in front of me and a car comes speeding through the red light in front of me. So here is the bad news. It will only get worse — much worse.

I have already noticed a large increase in traffic this year than last year. I noticed this in February, which means it’s not tourists. Look at all the new house going up all over. The worst is tall the new apartment buildings that have gone up in the last 18 months and continue to do so. These are high density. All of these people will be driving on the roads around here, making all of these problems worse. Unless there is a major upgrade and updating of the traffic light system, things will get much worse real fast.

U.S. 95 may be under the jurisdiction of the federal government, but many of the lights all over town should be controlled locally. Can any government official, either state, county or city, that has responsibility for these traffic lights, tell us readers why the lights are so out-of-date? I have seen millions spent on projects all over town. How many people know that ignite cda (urban renewal) is funded by property taxes? Taxpayer money should be used only for public purposes, a park, a library, a community center, something that serves the public. Private businesses should be funded by investors willing to risk their money, not by taxpayers. How about urban renewal money to upgrade traffic lights or intersections?

Finally, how to solve the traffic buildup and red light running. Only a major upgrade of the lights and roads will help the traffic. As for major intersections around town, cite the violators. The problem with this is there may not be enough manpower for this as well as other police duties.

In Illinois they put in red light cameras at major intersections. It worked. Red light running went almost to zero. Why? Because it became very expensive for the violators. Since it took up to 30 days to receive the fine in the mail, some people had three or more violations before they received the first one in the mail. They did not count it against their license or they would have lost it. Still, the fines were stiff and it cured the problem. I would hate to see that here.

JOE GERARDS

Coeur d’Alene