Okay folks, your time is running out to express your opinion on the future of transportation in Spokane. You’ve only got one more week to play ‘A Thousand Visions- A Transportation Planning Game.’
The game is part of our Transportation Vision Project that is aimed at developing a long term transportation plan for all of Spokane County, including an implementation plan. It’s online here, on the Transportation Vision Project website.
The game lets you decide how much you’re willing to be taxed, which dictates how much money you have to spend on transportation ‘improvements.’ From there, you work through a list of possible future projects and ‘fund’ the ones that are a priority.
Results from the game will give us an idea how people want their transportation dollars spent in the future. The game is online through Monday, Nov. 29. I figure it’s kind of like voting; if you don’t do it, you can’t complain later if things don’t go your way.
And don’t forget that there’s something in it for you. If you complete the game in its entirety, your name goes into a drawing for a TomTom GPS unit.
Repair and maintain the streets like they should be for vehicular traffic. If there is enough room on existing roads then and only then provide bike lanes, if not then don’t. I for one am getting very tired of the social engineering which is currently taking place.
You're not the only one Anonymous that we've heard from who said their priority is maintenance. That's why we included in the game a couple of options for maintenance. You can either keep funding maintenance at the current levels, go up to a medium level, or go all the way and fund it at a high level. The game includes explanations of how much maintenance would be done at each of those levels.
I agree that preservation and maintenance of our existing system should be the highest priority!
However, I'd like to point out that adding bike lanes to existing roadways is no more "social engineering" than the the last fifty years of highway building and other car-centric transportation policies. The only difference is that now we are "engineering" to allow for a variety of transportation options, rather than just for the automobile.
I agree with the third post. Social engineering? Ha. That's a good one! The last 50 years have been nothing but social engineering to promote an unsustainable suburban lifestyle. Driving a car isn't a part of human nature. It is the direct result of cheap energy (oil), which will be ending soon.
So relax original poster. Vote for maintaining the roads we have and enjoy filling up with $5 a gallon gas the minute the economy begins to turn around. You'll see me out there. I'll be The one waving and smiling at you as I'm biking at 15 mph in front of you because I don't have a separated lane to ride in 🙂