Poor traffic planning

Last week you printed a letter from my husband about the “no turn on red” sign at Fifth and Cedar. Here’s another situation that causes us to wonder if any actual planning goes into making decisions regarding the streets.

The Idaho Driver’s Manual says, “Two solid yellow lines mean that neither lane of traffic can cross the lines unless they are turning (if it is safe to do so). The only time a driver is permitted to cross a double yellow line is when turning left into a driveway or entrance to a business.”

Yet, it is now impossible for many vehicles to drive north on Boyer from Highway 2 without crossing the double yellow line. Don’t the people who decide where to paint the lines have guidelines to follow regarding how many feet wide a lane must be to accommodate traffic?

On most of Division Avenue, a much wider street, we are not allowed to park at all, but on Boyer, one of the busiest streets in Sandpoint, where lots of large trucks travel, we now have dangerously narrow north and south bound lanes, a bike path on each side of the street, and cars parked at the curb. It’s an accident waiting to happen!

Also, have you ever noticed that the eastbound lane of Lakeview has a stop sign at Euclid, while the northbound lane of Euclid has a yield sign at that corner? When I stop at that stop sign, I always wonder what would happen if another car stopped at the yield sign at the same time.

Neither one of us would have the right of way, so would we both have to sit there forever? What’s the point of having a yield sign if the cross street has stop signs? Who makes these decisions? Do they ever stop to think about the consequences of their decisions? I can’t wait to see what they come up with next!

VELTA ASHBROOK

Sandpoint