Transit System Proposed For Sandpoint Area

Sandpoint isn't within KMPO's jurisdiction, but the following article is interesting to me because the proposed transit system for Sandpoint it talks about could benefit all the people from Kootenai and Spokane counties who visit there.

The service would be free and go between the cities of Ponderay, Kootenai, Sandpoint and Dover. Here's more information on this proposed transit system from the Spokesman-Review.

CDA Leaf Pick-Up Starts Nov. 8

The City of Coeur d'Alene starts their annual leaf pick-up program on Monday, November 8. Because leaves can plug catch basins and storm drains, please be sure to keep leaves on your property until Monday, November 1st. At that time, you can rake your leaves and pine needles about one foot away from the gutter line to allow for water drainage.

Leaves will be picked up only once. Please do not put leaves in the street after city crews have completed your area, and do not include bagged leaves, branches, rubble, or refuse.

City crews are unable provide a precise schedule of where leaf pick-up will take place. Pick-up will start south of Sherman Avenue and move north. Completion is expected by Wednesday, November 24th.

Inland Pacific Hub Call For Proposals

Phase 2 of the Inland Pacific Hub (IPH) process will start soon. The IPH is a project aimed at transforming the Inland Northwest into a hub for commerce, vital to the global economy.

KMPO's sister agency, SRTC, will manage that project and is seeking proposals from qualified firms to identify potential transportation and economic investments that will enhance the development of the Inland Pacific Hub.

The overall objective is to identify and recommend actions, strategies and programs that can be implemented to strengthen the competitive position of the IPH region (both domestically and globally).

RFP details can be found on the IPH website or you can click here to request a RFP packet. Please provide a contact name, company name, address, telephone, and email. The packet will be emailed back to you.

Signs Changing To Accomodate Older Drivers

I've been hearing a lot of concern lately about the large number of baby boomers on our roadways, and how there are going to have to be some changes to the national transportation system to accomodate them. Well apparently someone is listening.

In a nod to the fading eyesight of the senior set, the federal government is requiring communities to change street name signs from all capital letters to a combination of capital and lowercase letters. The government says that makes them easier to read.

Not everyone is happy about though, particularly the jurisdictions paying for these changes. Here's the story from USA Today.

KMPO October Newsletter Now Available

Want the synopsis of what KMPO has been working on for the past few months?
Well here's our quarterly newsletter. Take a look and let me know if you have any questions.

Census Participation Rate Numbers Available

Good job America! The U.S. Census Bureau announced this week that 74% of households in the US filled out and mailed back their 2010 Census questionnaire, matching the final mail participation rate achieved in the 2000 Census.

Spokane County had 78% participation rate and Kootenai County 77%, although I can't find on the Census site how that compares to 2000's participation rate. For those of you really interested in the numbers, you can narrow it down even further to cities and towns by clicking here.

Still Taking TIP Comments

Ryan and I staffed the public meeting for the 2011-2015 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) last night. Attendance was modest but we got some good feedback. A lot of people had questions about Greensferry, Beck Road and Pleasant View. And one woman had safety concerns about some areas where there is a concentration of children, such as Mullan Avenue in the west 200 block and 20th and 21st from Spokane to Chase Park, where a lot of young people live.

It's not too late to get your comments in if you couldn't attend the meeting last night. Here's a link to the TIP online. Look it over, then send any questions or comments to us here and we'll get back to you. All your comments need to be in by 4 p.m. on November 1.

PETA & ITD?

PETA and the Idaho Transportation Department may not seem like logical partners but they're teaming up to get the word out about leaving pets in hot cars.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has been lobbying ITD regularly regarding the issue, and earlier this month ITD's driver services manager informed the activist group that a warning will be added to the Idaho driver's manual about the danger of leaving cats and dogs in parked cars.

KCATT Meeting Next Tuesday

The monthly Kootenai County Area Transportation Team (KCATT) meeting is next Tuesday, October 26 at 8 a.m. Here's the agenda.

If you see anything that jumps out at you, feel free to attend. KCATT meetings are held at the Idaho Transportation Department District One Headquarters, 600 W. Prairie Ave. in Coeur d'Alene.

TIGER II Grant Recipients Announced

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood yesterday announced that 42 capital construction projects and 33 planning projects in 40 states will share nearly $600 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s TIGER II program for major infrastructure projects ranging.

No local projects received funding however. The City of Spokane had submitted an application for funds for a study of the regional trail system. The closest project to receive funding through TIGER II is an Intermodal Transit Center in Moscow that received $1.5 million.

A complete list of capital grant recipients can be seen here.

The list of planning grant recipients is here.

Idaho Scenic Motorcycle Rides

I post a lot of bicyclist information on this blog, so how about a little something for you other bikers. Yeah, the ones that ride motorcyles.

Here's some suggested motorcyle road trip routes through Idaho from MotorcycleRoads.com. It just sounded nice today. Why am I sitting in this office when the sun is shining outside and I could be doing a nice trip around Lake Coeur d'Alene?

3rd Street Closed Tomorrow

On Wednesday, October 20th, from 5 a.m. until approximately 1 p.m., 3rd Street in Coeur d'Alene will be closed from Sherman Avenue to Lakeside Avenue so that Street Maintenance Department crews may locate a stormwater line.

Sagle Man Says He Can Solve Transportation and Engergy Issues

A Sagle, Idaho man says he has the technology to eliminate the entire nation's reliance on fossil fuels, while also eliminating the need to plow roads, spelling out warning signs in the actual roadway and capturing rainwater to purify it.

Sound crazy? Kind of but it also sounds like it might not be so far-fetched, especially because the man behind the idea is winning awards and drawing the attention of Japanese investors. This could shift the entire makeup of our transportation AND power systems, and it's all happening here in our corner of the country.

Here's the Spokesman-Review story on how Scott Brusaw and his wife want to replace the nation's roadways with solar panels.

Are there any problems you foresee if we were to cover our roadways with solar panels? Of course it would be a slow process and expensive but do you think it would work in the end?

Reminder: TIP Meeting Tomorrow Night

Here's your reminder that KMPO is hosting an open house tomorrow evening for to provide members of the public a chance to review and comment on our recently completed draft Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) for 2011 - 2015.

The TIP is a funding program document that lists funded transportation improvements proposed by various jurisdictions in Kootenai County to be constructed within the next four years.

The open house is from 4-6 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 20 at Post Falls City Hall, 408 N. Spokane Street, Post Falls. There will not be a formal presentation at the meeting so you can come anytime between 4-6 p.m. and leave at your convenience.

SIA Has Body Scanners

I hadn't flown in a while, so when I showed up at Spokane International Airport last week and was asked to step into the body scanner I was pretty surprised. I asked the TSA agent how long they've had the scanners and was told only about a month. For those who haven't done it, they ask you to stand with your feet apart and your thumbs up to your temples with your fingers splayed out. So somewhere there is a picture of me looking like Bullwinkle the moose. I asked to see the image but they wouldn't let me.

Super Drunk; Does Not Include Super Powers

When I hear 'super drunk,' I think of a super hero who's imbibed too much, much like Spidey here. In Michigan though, 'super drunk' is an official term for a kind of drunk driver.

Starting on Oct. 31, there will be two kinds of drunken drivers in the state: standard and “super.”

Standard are those with blood alcohol content of 0.08 to 0.16 percent. The super drunk, a new category under state law, are first-time offenders who test at 0.17 or above. Along with the new designation comes super-high penalties and fines.

Here's the 'super' story, from Mlive.com.

Do you think fining and penalizing super drunk drivers more than a regular drunk driver will cut down on drunk driving incidents or is this just a way to bring in more money?

Studs Now Legal In Idaho

I can't believe it's that time of year again, but the Idaho Transportation Department sent out a news release reminding drivers that it's now okay to put studded tires on your vehicle.

The use of studded tires is legal from Oct. 1 through April 30.

While it is legal to use the tires, the transportation department advises against it unless extreme conditions warrant. Driving on studded tires may cause undue wear on bare roadways.

If you do use studs though, and travel to neighboring states, here are some dates to keep in mind:

* Montana: Oct. 1 - May 31
* Nevada: Oct. 1 - April 30
* Utah: Oct. 15 - March 31
* Oregon: Nov. 1 - March 31
* Washington: Nov. 1 - March 31
* Wyoming: Legal all year

Grandma Can't Drive 55- Or 110

From the AP wires- Oregon State Police gave an 82-year-old woman a ticket for driving 28 miles per hour over her age. A trooper allegedly spotted the woman's car going 110 mph yesterday on Highway 26 west of Gresham. The posted limit is 55 mph.

She said she was on her way to an appointment and wasn’t aware she was going that fast. She was given a ticket for $1,103. Holy cow grandma, how do you not know you're going that fast??

World's Longest Tunnel Nearing Completion

I was joking with a gentleman at a public meeting the other night about drilling a tunnel under Lake Coeur d'Alene. Well it's not such a joke in Switzerland where they're about to chew through the last few inches of rock standing in the way of the creation of the world’s longest tunnel.

The tunnel is part of a larger project to shift the hauling of goods from roads to rails, spurred by concerns that heavy trucks are destroying Switzerland’s Alpine landscape. This sounds familiar, where have I heard this before?

Anyway, it's quite a project and the Swiss people have agreed to some pretty steep taxes to get it. Here's the story from the Spokesman-Review.

TIP Open House Meeting Next Week

KMPO has recently completed a draft Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) for 2011 - 2015 and is hosting an open house meeting to provide members of the public a chance to review it and ask questions or make comments.

The TIP is a four-year funding program document that lists federally and non-federally funded transportation improvements proposed by various jurisdictions in Kootenai County. It identifies regionally significant transportation programs or projects that transportation jurisdictions and other agencies propose to undertake during the upcoming four years.

The open house is from 4-6 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 20 at Post Falls City Hall, 408 N. Spokane Street, Post Falls. There will not be a formal presentation at the meeting so you can come anytime between 4-6 p.m. and leave at your convenience. So please come.