"Residents' voices shouldn't go unheard"

If you would like to sign the petition referenced in the editorial below from today's Moscow-Pullman Daily News, please click here.

It shouldn't take a tragedy to bring change.

That could be the case in Pullman, however, if the City Council doesn't take appropriate action regarding parking revisions on the section of Larry Street that runs past Pullman High School's baseball field.

Anyone who has attended a Greyhound or American Legion baseball game at the field can attest congestion is a problem. Cars parked on both sides of the street leave little room for traffic flow in either lane, and little or no room for bicyclists and pedestrians.

A group of Military Hill residents took their concerns to the council last month. The council weighed the input and decided to restripe Larry Street. The changes will allow 7.5 feet of parking space on either side of the road and 11-foot lanes for traffic.

That's a start, but it's not enough.

The group has responded by circulating an online petition seeking further changes. The goal is to have the south side of the street designated as a no-parking area.

City and Pullman School District officials are considering other potential ways to mitigate the problem, including building a path from the high school parking lot to the ballfield bleachers to encourage off-street parking.

There's no better encouragement than making some on-street parking illegal.

"I've had close calls where I have to come to a complete and instant stop to avoid hitting people," said Susan Forbes, a Valhalla Street resident who has signed the petition. "It just seems like it's going to be a matter of time before a serious injury or accident occurs."

The concerns of residents alone should be enough to sway the council. As of today, 49 people have signed the petition, most of whom likely live in the area or drive along Larry Street on a regular basis.

They know the situation better than anyone else, and their collective voices shouldn't go unheard.