EDITORIAL: Traffic headaches? Try this prescription

If you love to complain, this editorial probably is not for you.

But if you’re the kind of person who prefers to tackle difficult problems before they become impossible to manage — depriving yourself of the later privilege of pointing an accusing finger at decision-makers and condemning them for not fixing broken things — then here’s a golden opportunity.

The problem: traffic throughout the Rathdrum Prairie. 

The opportunity: public meetings today and tomorrow addressing alternatives to address those traffic problems.

“This study began in 2023, and since that time the public has participated in the screening process by providing input about the environment, growth, and their unique perspective on a variety of community issues,” ITD said in a press release. 

Last June, ITD gathered the public’s ideas and input for ways to make our existing and future roadway corridors more efficient and safer while addressing increasing capacity needs.

ITD has incorporated all that feedback into alternatives that are now ready for your scrutiny and further feedback.

The public is invited to attend today’s meeting, available anytime between the hours of 4:30 and 7:30 p.m., at the Lake City Center, 1916 N. Lakewood Drive in Coeur d’Alene.

The same information will be shared Thursday in Post Falls. That meeting will also be ongoing between 4:30 and 7:30 p.m. at the Trailhead Event Center in Q’emiln Park, 12361 W. Parkway Drive. 

Alternatives will be presented and attendees’ feedback will be sought at both meetings. The information provided by ITD will be the same at both meetings.

If you can’t make it to one of these meetings somewhere in their 3-hour windows, ITD is also making them available online. Between Nov. 15 and Nov. 29 you can view the same materials presented at the public meetings and provide your feedback. Go to: https://itdprojects.idaho.gov/pages/rathdrum-prairie-pel

The Press commends ITD for its ongoing mission to hear from the people most affected by its decisions and build its plans at the community level rather than in some Boise silo. 

Taking advantage of opportunities like those being presented by ITD today and tomorrow might be a little more work and less fun than waiting and complaining later. But if the effort ends up improving your daily driving experiences, that seems a small price to pay.