TRAFFIC: When turning is trouble

For the last couple of months Kootenai County seems to have more traffic problems than it ever has in all the years I have been here.

One of the glaring problems is people who stop their vehicle 4-6 car lengths behind the vehicle ahead of them at a stoplight. This results in people wanting to access the turn lanes to not be able to get to those turn lanes which, in turn, causes more people to stack up in the lanes going forward and results in people having to wait through two or more light changes to get through an intersection.

This practice is causing huge backups on many streets that cross Government Way and Highway 95 and also in other places. One of the huge problem spots is coming south on Government Way from Hayden City and trying to turn left on Honeysuckle. The turn lane is small and with people leaving space between cars, one can’t get to the turn lane when the turn light turns green.

Perhaps the police could ticket some of these people as traffic is bad enough without this problem adding to it.

DONNA HARVEY

Hayden