Northeast Gridlock

by Angela Koska

Do you often find yourself sitting for long periods of time in the bottleneck of traffic on Hardscrabble Road in Northeast Columbia? If so, then you know that at certain times of day, traffic on this main thoroughfare in our area comes to a complete standstill. Not only is the congestion on this overburdened road an inconvenience, but it is also a safety hazard to those who travel the highway and to our public safety personnel trying to get through the blockage. When traffic is an obstacle to our area's firetrucks, ambulances, and police vehicles, it becomes a safety issue for all residents of Northeast Columbia.

You may have already seen the disheartening facts about Hardscrabble Road: over 550 accidents and 2 fatalities in the past 4 years. According to Michael Letts, Transportation Committee Chair for the Central Midlands Council of Governments, Hardscrabble Road was built to accommodate 8,000 trips per day, but is now estimated to be bearing up to 32,000 trips per day. "This 400% overload has led to a DOT rating level F, which means that the road is in a constant state of failure," Letts said.

Northeast Fine Living magazine's publisher, Michael Koska, started a petition in June 2005 in order to demonstrate community support for a Department of Transportation bonding program to widen Hardscrabble Road from two to five lanes from Farrow Road to Kelly Mill Road. The DOT program can bond up to $140 million through the Central Midlands Council of Governments, which would divide the funding among numerous road projects in its five-county service area. The council estimates that it would take about $40 million to widen Hardscrabble Road from two to five lanes.

The grassroots petition campaign has adopted the slogan "Make Hardscrabble Safe." Koska points out, "The congestion on Hardscrabble Road is a headache to those who travel it daily, but we are far more concerned about the danger that this road poses. Our community simply cannot afford the human toll of not improving this road."

With the first 5,000 signatures gathered in just over 60 days, Koska now has doubled his goal to 10,000 signatures. He says, "We are in the process of contacting every Northeast neighborhood and business to help us get the petition signed by everyone who lives, works, takes kids to school or otherwise travels this road. We want the name of every Northeast resident on this petition.

Letts continued, "We have a small window of opportunity to do something about it through this bonding program or we could have to wait 20 more years. Waiting will only cost us more damage and more lives."

For more information, please visit www.MakeHardscrabbleSafe.org or contact Michael Koska at 865-9497.