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The front page of the Aug. 16, 2017, Daily Bee treated us to a rejoinder from Sandpoint Public Works Director Ryan Luttmann, to a letter written by a reader concerning the inadequacies of the traffic control devices at the offset intersections of First Avenue, Bridge Street, and Church Street. I found Director Luttmann’s response to the writer as a bureaucratic “double down” to the poorly designed intersections. Here are some highlights:

Director Luttmann made a vain attempt to equate the downtown intersections with the roundabout at Larch Street and Boyer Avenue. The latter is a true roundabout, with an actual “round” island, and well defined entrances and exits. The downtown intersections have no island, the yield signs are offset, and the “sharks teeth” lines painted on the road, as found in the “Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices” (how many of you readers have browsed that manual lately?) are meaningless to the average motorists. Also, what happens in the winter when those “sharks teeth” are covered with snow and ice?

Director Luttmann then offered scientific proof of his success by proclaiming “city staff from the water treatment facility, as well as lifeguards and Parks and Recreation staff going in and out of City Beach, have reported traffic moving more quickly.” “And these are people who experience it on a day-to-day basis, so as far as moving traffic in and out, they’re seeing an increase in traffic flow coming from the City Beach area…reducing the wait, anyway.” I have known many engineers in my time, and have always respected their decisions, which are usually based on strict, mathematical equations. While I am pleased to hear that city employees are able to get into the downtown area faster than previous attempts, I hardly find Director Luttmann’s findings anywhere near scientific.

Here is the bottom line. Director Luttmann made a series of errors in designing the new downtown traffic flow. (I don’t have the space to get into the truck routes, or the Fifth and Pine fiasco.) The time has come for him to swallow his pride, admit he made serious mistakes, and take measures to correct his mistakes. If he fails, or refuses to take that path, perhaps it is time for him to return to the private sector.

JIM KELLY

Sandpoint