Letters To The Editor

City should sweep gravel off Euclid

I live off Euclid, a busy street that is a main bus route.

The street has no sidewalks on its way down to Downriver Golf Course. This hill is well-used by many pedestrians.

I have been walking up this hill for months now, almost in the middle of the road, facing ongoing traffic. The gravel is so thick that it is impossible to walk on the side of the street.

This is an incredibly dangerous situation. I have watched in-line skaters, bikes and baby strollers out in the middle of traffic (sometimes facing an oncoming Spokane Transit Authority bus).

A few days ago I called the city Street Department to find out when this street was scheduled to be swept. I was told that at the earliest it would be June 25. I do not understand why it takes so long to get our streets swept.

I estimate that we will get a clean safe street in July. We will have about three months of clean, safe streets, and then the leaves will start falling. Then it will be another three months to get the streets swept.

Why can’t the city hire some part-time workers and rent some extra vehicles to get this taken care of quickly? I have lived in other cities where the streets are swept weekly. I understand that part of our air-quality problem is from dust and particulates from our winter traction gravel on our streets.

Safety is my utmost concern. I don’t want to see anyone hit by a vehicle because the city hadn’t swept the streets.

I wish there was something I could do to clean up at least our streets. Even if the city provided a Dumpster and some brooms, I feel that I could get a few neighbors in our neighborhood to sweep our own streets.

Is anyone else as frustrated as I am? May Naber Spokane