Vancouver resident Sara Schmit addresses the Save Vancouver Streets petition

Editor’s note: Opinions expressed in this letter to the editor are those of the author alone and do not reflect the editorial position of ClarkCountyToday.com

Adopting the Save Vancouver Streets petition would ruin the city of Vancouver’s ability to make improvements, and cost taxpayers more money with less results. Having to vote on every single vehicle lane removal would cripple the city’s ability to get state and federal funding and other grants for road improvements. 

Rather than being able to design the safest road for all users, our city’s planners would be forced to contend with the misinformation groups like Save Vancouver Streets present to the public. Making the safety of our roads political cannot be allowed to happen. 

This isn’t about transgender books being in the classroom.  This is a question of am I going to get killed or injured traveling through the streets of Vancouver because someone has a misinformed opinion? The city does not remove car lanes at random; there are car travel levels of service requirements established at a state and federal level that have to be met before lane removal is even considered. 

The people that oppose them may not really understand the data, or are up to speed on the latest safety requirements and designs. That’s okay. It is not their job to design and maintain the safety of our streets. It is the job of planners and engineers we are already paying to do this.

This false assertion the city did not give ample time and opportunities for feedback is exactly that; a false assertion. Those of us who were at those meetings know it. It can be hard to accept, and believe me I’ve been there, but a fact of life remains that just because it didn’t go your way doesn’t mean you didn’t get a say. We can’t let the inability of some members of our community to understand that lesson put all of our lives at risk. 

Sara Schmit
Vancouver

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