CDA traffic, really that bad?

[Keim]

Sage hit the nail on the head. The amount of cars really isn't bad. It's the poor road planning. And, of course, the "I remember when" factor. I get that, as I do remember when. And, I do miss it.

[jem22]

I agree that the term traffic is very much subjective. Having grown up in the Seattle metro area I was quite disappointed to experience similar traffic phenomena in Coeur d'Alene--obviously on a lesser scale, but disturbing nonetheless. I think it was the sheer magnitude of vehicles and their relative aggressiveness that surprised me during my first trip to the area. It was dark and raining heavily while I headed south on 95 toward CD and the traffic just would not quit. People were driving too fast for the conditions and tail gating each other. I was at once reminded of Seattle, where people seem to go into a sort of panic mode whenever weather's the least bit inclement. I was not expecting this kind of mania in North Idaho, of all places.

[mistyriver]

Originally Posted by jem22

I agree that the term traffic is very much subjective. Having grown up in the Seattle metro area I was quite disappointed to experience similar traffic phenomena in Coeur d'Alene--obviously on a lesser scale, but disturbing nonetheless. I think it was the sheer magnitude of vehicles and their relative aggressiveness that surprised me during my first trip to the area. It was dark and raining heavily while I headed south on 95 toward CD and the traffic just would not quit. People were driving too fast for the conditions and tail gating each other. I was at once reminded of Seattle, where people seem to go into a sort of panic mode whenever weather's the least bit inclement. I was not expecting this kind of mania in North Idaho, of all places.

You spend a lot of time and effort trolling on boards for places that you detest. If anyone is silly enough to believe your posts, they're better off somewhere else anyway, imo.

[brokencrayola]

If you have lived anywhere near or in a big city, then you know what traffic really is. CDA does not have a traffic problem.

[ejay]

Cda has a traffic flow problem. The powers that be decided to not install right hand dedicated turn lanes. Put neighborhoods in with no updating of the roads leading to the housing developments. This area has been hit with lots of houses and less roads to travel on. I can remember when you got past K Mart in the 90's their was less traffic heading north. By less I mean logging trucks and a few cars. I used to be able to get to Hudsons in 10 min or less and get my lunch. Forget it now. Now it's a steady stream of cars heading north and south. Government Way is the same. With tourist season it's gets worse. People need to realize that if your here your in tourist central. In the summer this place explodes with people. They are everywhere. Everyone wants to get their piece of the Idaho dream. With people comes congestion. Give it another 10 years and we will definitely have a real traffic problem. As the population continues to grow here it will get worse.

We have very few bicycle riding options to get around town. Something this place needs. I have been almost hit several times on my bicycle riding around town. The drivers are getting worse. More rude I would say. Been flipped off and swerved at. My buddy was hit by a car a few years ago. Gotta be careful of the cars when your riding around now. With growth comes more problems. Some better some worse. Traffic here will be a problem. It is all relative to where you came from and what your take on it is. Long time locals say traffic is too much. They used to drive around without a care. New locals think traffic is less than normal for them. It time it will be normal full of cars. But hey that's an improvement right.

[lovecda]

I'm not sure what you mean by few bike riding options. Not counting the 24 miles of the Centennial Trail, (therefore excluding Rosenberry, Mullan and CdA Lake) Coeur d'Alene alone has more than 27 miles of bicycle paths, trails and lanes throughout the city. West to east these include: Prairie Trail, Atlas, CdA Place (neighborhood), Ramsey, Northwest, Ironwood, Government, Harrison, Neider, Kathleen, 4th, Lakeshore, 15th, Fernan Lake, Nettleton Gulch and Margaret.

A bicyclist can make it from Ramsey, north of Dalton all the way to downtown without ever leaving a designated bike path, from Huetter, north of Poleline to downtown without leaving a designated bike path, and from Prairie & Highway 95 to downtown without leaving a designated bike path for more than 2 blocks. The downtown area has many bike racks scattered about for public use, and has continued to add more over time.

In situations where a bike isn't sufficient transportation, Citylink buses are public transportation. They provide free rides to everyone in community, and each bus has a free-to-use bike rack. Citylink has routes that interchange with both the Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes and with the Centennial Trail.

The city even has a Pedestrian and Bicyclist committee consisting of 15 members made up of city employees, community representatives, a school district representative and a city council member. They are constantly evaluating bike access, improving current access and growing access routes. I don't think it's fair to say there are few bicycle riding options in Coeur d'Alene.

[elkotronics]

We moved from CDA in January of 2013. We only lived there for about 6 months as I looked for work but that is plenty of time living in a city ta get the "driving flow" down pat. I've gotta say, CDA is a piece of cake ta handle. But I was born in Seattle and raised in Edmonds, WA. You wanna talk about troubled traffic flow, go to Seattle for a weekend. There you will see an overgrowth of traffic with poor long-term planning from officials.

CDA traffic actually flows OK. Not better than OK, because yes traffic in CDA bottlenecks on 95 way before you get even close ta town going southbound. Government Way if packed and 4th was my option a lot of times to get to my house, which was near the library. You learn the "backroad" ways. I would go NW Boulevaard and turn up the hill towards the Courthouse area to get on 4th eventually and down the slight hill to downtown.

CDA is a beautiful town and as I reflect on my comments of a couple of weeks ago I now realize that if I would've scored a job in my field there I would've been happy as a clam ta live there. It is a beautiful place and a big reason why I keep coming back to this forum to participate. Anyone that can move here and survive financially will be blessed by living here. Check out beautiful Fernan Lake on the north side of town. Drive north on the lakeside road and get up into the forest roads. Then you'll start ta see the beauty of this area. Gorgeous area!

[ejay]

Originally Posted by lovecda

I'm not sure what you mean by few bike riding options. Not counting the 24 miles of the Centennial Trail, (therefore excluding Rosenberry, Mullan and CdA Lake) Coeur d'Alene alone has more than 27 miles of bicycle paths, trails and lanes throughout the city. West to east these include: Prairie Trail, Atlas, CdA Place (neighborhood), Ramsey, Northwest, Ironwood, Government, Harrison, Neider, Kathleen, 4th, Lakeshore, 15th, Fernan Lake, Nettleton Gulch and Margaret.

A bicyclist can make it from Ramsey, north of Dalton all the way to downtown without ever leaving a designated bike path, from Huetter, north of Poleline to downtown without leaving a designated bike path, and from Prairie & Highway 95 to downtown without leaving a designated bike path for more than 2 blocks. The downtown area has many bike racks scattered about for public use, and has continued to add more over time.

In situations where a bike isn't sufficient transportation, Citylink buses are public transportation. They provide free rides to everyone in community, and each bus has a free-to-use bike rack. Citylink has routes that interchange with both the Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes and with the Centennial Trail.

The city even has a Pedestrian and Bicyclist committee consisting of 15 members made up of city employees, community representatives, a school district representative and a city council member. They are constantly evaluating bike access, improving current access and growing access routes. I don't think it's fair to say there are few bicycle riding options in Coeur d'Alene.

Your right the place is chock full of riding options. I am completely wrong. I stand corrected. Don't know what I was thinking...