[Vision2020] North Latah County Highway District sign policy

[Wayne Price]

dan,

I don't have the "need for speed", what I do have is a need for trust  
in government and the knowledge that what they are doing is in  
compliance with the laws of the State of Idaho.

What I am asking is for a list of the signs that have been put up by  
the highway district that are not in compliance with state law. How  
does the motoring public know which signs are real, legitimate and  
enforceable, and which ones are merely advisory. For the highway  
district to flaunt the state laws / regulations is just as bad as the  
speed demons that  flaunt the state laws and regulations regarding how  
fast they can go.

I will take my concerns to "our lawmakers on their way to Boise" to  
have the Attorney General's Office look into highway districts that  
are flaunting the laws and regulations  and posting bogus speed  
limits. Shirley, I know you look in on the Vision 2020 site and hope  
you look into this one.  We have to be able to trust government, be it  
municipal, state, or even highway district. Clearly, by their own  
admission, we can't even believe speed limit signs. This is an example  
where the Legislature has spoken, the highway district doesn't like  
the decision that the Legislature has made, so it ignores it and does  
what it damn well pleases.  While it appears on the surface to be just  
a matter of  speed limit signs, it actually goes much farther than  
that.  Getting a "speeding ticket" for going faster than the posted  
speed limit costs time and money, Here we have a situation where law  
enforcement will intrude upon a citizen under the pretext that they  
have broken the speeding laws, when in fact, the citizen has done  
nothing wrong, but the highway district has by posting bogus signs.

In a reply to the story of the bogus signs being posted  on KHQ -Q6  
was this response:

"My stepson was run over by a grain truck on his 10th birthday on one  
of those Latah County roads. The driver admitted he was going 45mph.  
He was not sighted for speedig because of this exact issue."

Now, if the ten year old was aware that the road he was on was in fact  
a 55 mph road rather than a bogus posted 35, maybe he would have been  
much more aware of the actual risks involved and would have been much  
more cautious.  Do I blame the truck driver, NO! I blame the highway  
district for posting the bogus speed limits that the 10 year old  
relied upon, HE trusted that the signs posted were real, and I  
strongly would encourage the parents of the boy to bring suit against  
the highway district.



WMP





On Sep 28, 2009, at 8:46 PM, Dan Carscallen wrote:

> wayne,
>
> we've done very few speed studies.  It's not the expense that is  
> keeping us from doing so.  It's the methodology required.  Suffice  
> it to say the driving public dictates the speed limit.
>
> If you feel the "need for speed" on the county roads, I guess that's  
> your prerogative.  I dislike the fact that it is what it is, but we  
> have to play the hand we are dealt.  The signs will stay up as an  
> advisory speed, at the very least. I don't have the places where  
> we've done our surveys handy (I'm at home), but I know if you are in  
> a more "residential" area (Carmichael/Tomer roads, Country Homes  
> Trailer Court on Lenville, and the Old Pullman Highway just west of  
> the Kibbie Dome, for example) are legally posted at 35 mph or less  
> (I don't have handy what they are posted at).
>
> Honestly, I would hope you would direct your concern to our  
> lawmakers on their way to Boise.  Our lobbyist had the idea of how  
> to change the language in the code to give the Highway Commissioners  
> a little more authority as to setting speed liimits, making it  
> easier on all of us.
>
> DC
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Wayne Price
> To: Dan Carscallen
> Cc: 'Moscow Vision 2020'
> Sent: Monday, September 28, 2009 3:42 PM
> Subject: [Vision2020] North Latah County Highway District sign policy
>
> Dan,
>
> Since it came out that the Highway District has posted speed limit
> signs that are not valid, is there a listing of what signs aren't  
> valid?
> How are we to know which ones are real and which ones are bogus?
>
>
> Wayne

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