The question that has often been asked of me since I’ve already written nearly six years worth of these weekly epistles, is “Where do the ideas come from?” The answer is that a high percentage of them come from the pages of this newspaper. You may have noticed in last Saturday’s Chronicle that a process of “Centralia Streetscaping” is about to begin. SCJ Alliance — whoever that is — will begin the design process. I’m sure there will be suggestions from citizens as to what should deserve the highest and fastest priority.
My own vote, as you may have deduced from past comments over the years, would be to continue making Borst Avenue safe for student pedestrians walking to and from Centralia High School. Since I sat in the mayor’s chair over 35 years ago, I’ve been asking, “Why is Centralia High School not within the city limits of Centralia?” Some day I may get an answer.
By the way, after writing the above paragraph I came across a newspaper clipping about that Borst project from this newspaper Jan. 13 of last year. It said, “Preliminary design work is slated to begin in February and be completed by June.” Apparently that’s been done. The article also stated “Bids for construction will likely be advertised in January of 2019 with construction scheduled to begin in March and end in October.” The original mock-up showed 10-foot wide sidewalks that would be separated from the street by a 3-foot drainage median.
I’m certainly not against the idea of improving Centralia’s Streetscaping. I even made a suggestion to the city manager along those lines. The current sign welcoming drivers to Centralia is, let’s face it, misplaced. Any driver heading toward it is not going to be looking at the sign. He or she is only intent on making the turn onto the overpass without smashing into the concrete railing.
Here’s another thought: with the city limits of Centralia and Chehalis right up against each other, why isn’t the division point between them made clear to motorists? My suggestion is to have a sign alongside the road at that precise borderline. On Kresky Avenue, heading north, the sign could read something similar to “You are now entering Centralia … Enjoy.” And where South Gold Street becomes National Avenue, going south, the sign could read, “You are now leaving Centralia … Sorry.” I feel that the customary farewell employed in southern States, “Y’all come back now, Y’hear?” is just too long and colloquial.
And, speaking of roads, I never drive Interstate 5 through the Tumwater-Olympia-Lacey portion — and certainly not through Tacoma or Seattle — without thinking how former General and President Dwight D. Eisenhower had a great idea, and how that idea evolved into today’s traffic jams! Ike saw Germany’s Autobahn firsthand, and marveled at its simplicity and ability to transport troops and weaponry easily and quickly. The secret was that it avoided all populated areas, accessing the cities with connecting roads. As soon as the same configuration was presented to our Congress, though, it began to fall apart.
Just about every legislator saw a perfect chance to show off before his constituents, by insisting that the highways come close to the major cities in his constituency. Then Chambers of Commerce got into the act and said, “Close? Nothing! We want everyone passing through our cities, not around them, so they can see for themselves how great we are.” Or words to that effect. And thus was born the present situation of traffic congestion in every populated portion of our country. Is Ike rolling in his grave?
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Bill Moeller is a former entertainer, mayor, bookstore owner, city council member, paratrooper and pilot living in Centralia. He can be reached at bookmaven321@comcast.net.
