In gridlock? Remember this, drivers

Be sharp, class.

Today’s topic is traffic, and why we have exactly zero right to complain about it.

Now just like everyone else, I’m prone to whining about tie-ups around the county.

My particular teeth-grinder is the off-ramp from Interstate 90 eastbound onto Northwest Boulevard. With the sheer number of vehicles and that light at Ironwood, it feels like cars are backed up all the way to the interstate.

Trust me, I’ll bow in thanks if the work being done right now — changing the left turn lanes toward Seltice Way — increases the flow through longer green lights.

But that’s not the point today.

In fact, it’s more or less the opposite.

I think all of us need to stop, take a deep breath, and realize that we are going to be traffic victims forever in Kootenai County.

It won’t be like rush hour in Los Angeles or Atlanta, but we are going to face delays, long lines at some lights, slow crawls on U.S. 95 and so forth.

Facts of life, folks.

We’ve chosen to live in a delightful setting, nestled between lakes and mountains in a spectacular part of the world.

But plenty of other people want this lifestyle, too, so the influx of newcomers will mean constant development and more cars.

Then even more after that.

There’s another issue here, as well, and it’s not going to change.

We’re living in a low-tax state. We vote to keep government at arm’s length, and election totals say clearly that Idaho residents want it that way.

The downside to that form of governance, though, is that there generally won’t be a lot of money floating around for major infrastructure projects — and that’s a problem for a booming county.

The ITD just tossed out $245 million as a wild cost estimate for building a dream bypass from I-90 north to Highway 53.

That money isn’t coming anytime soon. To be more specific, it’s not coming at all — because the state doesn’t have it.

Idahoans aren’t interested in taxing themselves just to fatten the ITD budget, so we get what we get.

Which is often …

Nada.

MY LAST gig before moving to the Lovely North was in Manhattan, Kan.

That’s the state which recently became famous for going bankrupt.

When I arrived to take charge of a newsroom in Manhattan, there was money in the budget and several exciting infrastructure projects had hit the planning stage.

Some would have been useful, but one was absolutely mandatory — since Manhattan’s relentless growth was occurring on both sides of a seriously wide river. The old bridge in place had to be widened or a second one built.

No question.

But it never happened, because the governor’s notion of trickle-down economy wound up creating a massive deficit.

Just to pay for part of a struggling education system, the legislature swiped all the money from that transportation budget.

Kansas roads, bridges and overpasses now will crack and crumble for eternity.

Believe me, voters didn’t sign up for that plan.

Our situation in Idaho is different, and it’s the reason we have no reason to complain.

We love our low-tax, hands-off government.

So when we’re backed up behind 30 cars some afternoon, we have no right to get snarky about it.

But of course …

We will.

•••

Steve Cameron is a columnist for The Press.

Email: scameron@cdapress.com.

Twitter: @BrandNewDayCDA