"They Want To "Pave Paradise, and Put Up a ...4-Lane Highway"

[charris@uidaho.edu]

"They Want To 'Pave Paradise, and Put Up a Parking Lot...' -- Well, a Four-Lane 
Highway"

Chuck Harris

Recently, a UI study found that residents of Latah County identified Paradise Ridge 
as one of its top special places.  Now, the Idaho Department of Transportation has 
decided to put in a four-lane stretch of Highway 95 over the west end of the ridge.  
It's not too late to stop this -- if residents of Moscow and Latah County make their 
voices heard.

You've probably seen similar projects elsewhere on Highway 95, straightening the 
highway and adding multiple lanes.  This makes sense in some places, if you put a 
premium on getting somewhere a few minutes sooner.  It doesn't make sense on 
Paradise Ridge.

The Idaho Department of Transportation has received approval of its environmental 
assessment for the Genesee-Moscow highway project.  The Department and 
Federal Highway Administration have chosen Alternative 10A, the route over 
Paradise Ridge, as its Preferred Alternative.

If you want to envision how this will look, just go to a place where you can see the 
western end of the ridge.  Count over six power poles that are at the horizon from 
west to east.  Imagine four lanes like what's at the top of the Lewiston Grade, 
coming over the ridge and down into Moscow between the sixth and seventh poles -
- except with 200-foot cuts through the higher hills.  That view, along with speeding 
semi's, trucks and cars, will replace the current pastoral scene of a ridge that is 
home to a large herd of deer as well as turkeys, moose, fox, and coyotes.

Despite the significant wildlife and aesthetic issues, the real irony is that funding for 
this project is from the “Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century,” which was 
intended to increase transportation safety.  Significantly, the proposed route 
threatens the safety of the highway's travelers, rather than increases it.  

Several accidents have occurred on the highway between Reisenauer Hill and 
Moscow, and widening the existing roadway could well prevent accidents from 
happening as frequently.  Instead, the route that has been chosen will likely result in 
increased accident related injuries and deaths.  Paradise Ridge is higher in 
elevation, receives more snow during the winter months, will be icier, and is often 
fogged in.  Vehicles will be traveling faster on a straighter route and swerving to 
avoid the ridge’s 100-plus deer, so the proposed project will likely result in more and 
more serious traffic accidents.

Public hearings are scheduled for June 26 in Genesee and June 27 in Moscow.  
Please attend these meetings, and make your concerns and objections known.  
(You could start by requesting that they move the hearings to the fall when people 
are in town to provide input!)  If you are leaving town in the coming weeks, please 
write letters to the Idaho Department of Transportation (Region 2, 2600 Frontage 
Rd., Lewiston, 83501) and to the local newspapers voicing your opinions.  

It's not too late to stop this project.  Officials have stated that if the public’s input 
indicates major concerns over Alternative 10A, the Idaho Transportation Board 
could make the final decision.  You could also contact our representative on the 
Board, Bruce Sweeney, at the Board’s office (contact Sue Higgins, Board Secretary, 
3311 W. State St., P.O. Box 7129, Boise, Idaho 83707-1129).

Again, a few minutes of your time now could make a big difference for the future of 
our piece of paradise on the Palouse.  “Don’t it always seem to go, you don’t know 
what you’ve got till it’s gone…”  This is one time you really can help keep what 
we’ve got.  We can stop the plan to “pave paradise, and put up a parking lot..." -- 
well, actually, a four-lane, high-speed highway.  

Thank you in advance for ensuring the safety and quality of life of Moscow -- not 
just for its current residents, but for the future generations who will live and work 
here.

Dr. Chuck Harris, Professor
College of Natural Resources
University of Idaho
Moscow, ID  83844-1139
208-885-6514
FAX 208-885-6226