PRDC Safety Petition

To enhance safety on a dangerous stretch of U.S. Highway 95 south of Moscow, Idaho, Paradise Ridge Defense Coalition (PRDC) has initiated a petition that urges the Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) to immediately implement site-specific measures to mitigate unsafe highway conditions.  The scene of numerous traffic accidents and fatalities, the Reisenauer Hill area of Highway 95 poses serious threats to travelers during inclement and winter weather.  For a third time in a dozen years, American taxpayers are requesting that ITD lower and seek enforcement of the speed limit around Reisenauer Hill, erect reduced speed limit warning signs with weather-activated, flashing lights at both approaches to the hill, and install rumble strips in the center and fog lines, and in the traffic lanes before the warning signs, on this section of Highway 95.  Establishing these interim safety measures until and during construction of the new highway could help save lives and property.  PRDC encourages all citizens to read the full text of the petition on the PRDC and MoveOn websites, and sign it soon.  Please also circulate the petition to your colleagues and group members for signatures by 11 pm on Wednesday, December 17.

Petition to the Idaho Transportation Department Requesting Immediate, Site-Specific Actions to Mitigate Dangerous Conditions on Reisenauer Hill (November 28, 2014 Paradise Ridge Defense Coalition)

Highway Safety Demonstration

On Thursday, December 18, PRDC will deliver this petition to the Idaho Transportation Department in Lewiston, and send it via overnight mail to ITD Director Brian Ness and the Federal Highway Administration, both in Boise.  Between 1:30 and 4:00 pm on December 19, regional residents and PRDC members will conduct a Highway 95 roadside demonstration south of Palouse River Drive in Moscow.  Participants will highlight Highway 95 safety: citizen and PRDC concerns about it, appropriate interim measures to improve it, and recommended re-routing options that could restore it.  While ITD proclaims “safety” as its highway realignment project objective, its decades-long neglect of public well-being on current U.S. Highway 95 indicates otherwise.

PRDC invites the public and press to attend this demonstration urging ITD to implement measures now to improve safety on Highway 95.  Without further citizen action, ITD could compromise not only the last, best, native Palouse Prairie remnants but also the safety of Idahoans and guests.  Park on Myrtle Street behind the Plantation in Moscow, and gather on the Highway 95 sidewalk around the Palouse River bridge, after 1:30 pm on Friday, December 19 (See the following photo of the demonstration site area.).  Please respond to PRDC if you can participate in staggered shifts and/or make and bring signs.  Organizers encourage at least six to eight people to hold already created, Burma Shave-style signs saying “Danger Ahead – Hills & Curves – Next 5 Miles – Go Slow – Live for the Holidays – U.S. 95 Unsafe.”

Paradise Ridge Defense Coalition

Working to ensure and enhance the public safety, environmental integrity, and natural aesthetics of Paradise Ridge and its environs, the Paradise Ridge Defense Coalition represents citizens of Latah County, Idaho, and several member organizations.  PRDC concerns include highway safety and preserving the unique, rare Paradise Ridge and Palouse Prairie ecosystems that U.S. Highway 95 re-routing south of Moscow could threaten.

Paradise Ridge Defense Coalition

P.O. Box 8804, Moscow, Idaho 83843