March 06, 2005
Sunday

Just a few things I see I would like to point out about Third Avenue... this summer the State wants to repave some of Tongass Ave. Every one will need to use Third Ave as a alternative road when this happens. The trucks may even be hauling to that job from the valley. Plus the tourist buses - and there will be logging in Bear Valley. The log trucks are going to use Third Ave. I just do not see how you can tell someone they cannot use a road that was made for this reason. Why can you not just say that you well be ticketed if you stop traffic for the view? Why not fill in some of that hole on the other side of the road and let the tourist buses pull off the road? They can then cross the road and take their photos and go on - just like at the Sea Lion Cave in Oregon. We have to accept the fact that we have this road for a reason and it cost $20 million or more. Let's get our monies out of it. I have said it before, the only way that 3rd & Jefferson is going to work is to buy the house on the downhill side and put in a turn lane. More parking will be lost. Buses and trucks are going to use this road. But you can not come up Jefferson and make the corner when some one is in the middle of the road trying to do what ever they are doing there. Pete, a stop light is a joke. Do you remember the days before automatic transmissions? When you stop on a hill with a standard transmission you either burn rubber or roll back before you get moving in the right direction and someone will always pull up on your rear. This is a road to the high school too. Do you think they are good enough drivers to drive in front of you like that yet? All we have to do is have the turn lane back at the bottom of the hill, we all turn there any way. The guy who thought up the traffic pattern on Tongass should have been fired.

OK the staging area is a another big no brainier. Here in Ketchikan we have to move big things from one end of town to the other. Very often we have wide loads. We can not get by these people and their buses very easy. It is a highway is it not? The state only allows these moves at certain times, why make it harder on traffic. I really hate the big butt of that eagle. That corner should be fixed so our tires will stay off the side walk there. But the ones I have said things to say that there is a lot of power things there. So what. Put a bridge over them. I wanted to go complain about this but I worked in the rain all day and have a family and did not have the time to hang out there. This is the best way for most of us to make our points. It is too bad most of you are too afraid someone will not agree with you. Carl you haul more big stuff than all of us. What do you say?

You big engineers can make all these designs but you leave out function. If you're going to build another dock for these big boats build it north and fill in behind it and under the road that the state is spending millions on to keep it standing. Most all of the rock that came off Third Avenue could have been used. We need to make projects work together and reduce the cost. But if we did something like that we would give lots of room for staging and every thing else. Something like that could even give all of Ketchikan's smaller contractors work. Seems like the only projects with big price tags get out and the big boys take everything leaving nothing for the smaller local contractors. Sure they give use some hauling jobs but you have to be an owner-operator to make a dime. But I am rambling on. The point is, it is not what the cruise lines like - it's what good for us. If you block the cannery and they close up, then there are a lot of low income families that can not buy things for their families. These people wait for that time of year to buy their things. They shop locally because they do not make enough to fly south and shop like you high rollers. Port security is another reason, how close do you want these ships to our community's fuel supply? What happens if we get hit by another big attack and the tourist quit coming and we are stuck with nothing? The gold rush is over.

Eric thank you for showing us how many do live here. Most people do not see them all. I think the University is at fault by not helping out in keeping our state working at its best - meaning selling logs locally. I just saw how they wasted their money putting windows in the old bowling ally. There used to be parking and now you can not even drive up to the front door to let someone out. Removing the mural was a great blow to art. That was once the best mural in town. How many trees did that take?

Have a nice week and remember it is only my opinion.
 
Robert McRoberts 
Ketchikan, AK - USA

 

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