U.S. 95 relief (eventually) on its way

To most of us, this week means family gatherings, turkey with all the trimmings and then maybe some frantic shopping on Black Friday.

To Tim Martin and his colleagues, it means traffic — lots and lots of traffic.

Martin is Coeur d’Alene’s director of streets and engineering, so he’s often the point man receiving complaints about delays, backups and all the other problems that turn up when you go out driving at one of the busiest times of the year.

In truth, our “traffic problems” are nothing compared to the massive auto madness of California and many of the nation’s urban centers.

You could probably walk across the Atlanta metro region faster than you can drive it at rush hour — despite interstate loops that are eight lanes wide.

Have you ever tried to navigate the truly insane Boston streets?

So before we even address traffic issues in Kootenai County, let’s all agree that even when there are some jams, well...

We have it pretty good.

DESPITE that disclaimer, people like Martin and his compatriots at other area cities — not to mention the Idaho Transportation Department — are working constantly to speed up traffic on our busiest streets and highways.

They take public input seriously.

And by the way, of all the correspondence we receive at The Press, a big percentage has to do with traffic issues.

Some are spot on, and the suggestions concern resolutions that are already in the works.

For instance, Renee Christensen wrote: “Is there a reason that the intersections of both Prairie Ave/Highway 95 and Kathleen/Highway 95 can’t have the outer lane painted with an arrow to turn only? When heading east on both of those roads, you cross over Highway 95 and the lane ends immediately. Cars are all trying to jam into one lane.”

Well, Renee, people like Martin — and everyone at the Kootenai Metropolitan Planning Organization (KMPO) — know all about the problems at those intersections.

“They’re going to be fixed, along with a lot of other improvements on 95,” Martin said.

IN FACT, the 8.39-mile stretch of U.S. 95 that runs from I-90 north to Highway 53 will get a huge facelift in the next few years — and to be blunt here, most of the area’s traffic snarls involve U.S. 95.

“That’s where so much work needs to be done,” Martin said. “It really shows up when things gets busy, but now we’ve gotten a FASTLANE grant — funding that comes from the federal government and is distributed through the state.

“We (Coeur d’Alene) will be paying for work on Kathleen, for example, but the grant will cover a lot of the improvements. Believe me, we know that Highway 95 can be difficult.”

Yes, indeed.

It’s tough to drive on it at peak times (all this week, for instance), get across it or make turns in various directions.

The “Big Fix” will solve plenty of problems, but you’ll need to be patient because work won’t start until 2019 at the earliest.

So far, $6.7 million (out of $15 million total funding) has been allocated for 34 separate projects along U.S. 95, including all those much-needed turn lanes, addition and removal of some traffic signals, and widening some streets.

Sure, we’re talking a few years before it’s all done, and some irritating detours while work is being completed.

But look, can we offer some advice?

Please just slow down, relax, listen to some calming music, and remember the joy of this holiday season.

And of course...

Be doggone thankful you’re not driving in Los Angeles.

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Steve Cameron is a columnist for The Press. You can reach Steve at: [email protected]