Freight Advisory Board 8/19 meeting highlight:
The proposed Heavy Haul Corridor on West Marginal, East Marginal, Hanford, and Spokane will allow >25% heavier axle loads on these streets that are substandard construction on crappy fill soils and are way past due for complete roadbed rebuild.
Pavement disintegrates already. We ride the unswept gravel paths that result. The oil dripping onto the roads drains directly into Puget Sound.
What will the new plans do for safety? Nothing.
What will they do to rebuild the road? Nothing.
What WILL they do? Charge a couple hundred bucks for a permit to be over legal, with the revenue to pay for a cop to check that they’ve paid their fee.
It is important for our port to be competitive with Vancouver, Tacoma and Oakland. But not with a short term “solution” that destroys the roadway and compromises safety. Why should this be allowed before the road is rebuilt for truck loads and bike safety, including bike lanes with concrete barriers, from Spokane to Atlantic on East Marginal and south of Spokane to the Federal Center? We need investment upfront in roads for freight and bike traffic, equal to the quality of the Atlantic St crossover and Portside Trail, all the way south.