Important road should be maintained

On Friday, July 13, while riding our ATVs up Baldy Mountain Road, a friend and I discovered a section of the road washed out and blocked by concrete jersey barriers. When we sought help from local resident Alan Andrews, he kindly explained that the road was blocked as a matter of public safety and lawsuit avoidance, since the residents could not afford to repair it and neither the county nor the state has so far taken any action to do so.

Although this portion of the road crosses private land, it has been much used by county employees to access emergency and law enforcement communication systems above the washout, and by thousands of others (campers, bikers, hikers, ATV, motorcycle, and horse riders) who use the road but don’t have to pay for it. Local residents have already put tens of thousands of dollars into this road. They are tapped out. The estimated repair is $8,000 for the culvert. It seems only fair for the county and/or state to coordinate their efforts and repair the road. As an ATV rider, I thought that my license fees went toward projects like this.

If you use Baldy Mountain Road, you know the value of having access to the homes and trails behind Sandpoint. Please take a moment to let your county/state officials know how important this repair is to public safety and access. Maybe a public official would be willing to comment. Thank you.

THOMAS LEO

Cocolalla