Buckley council hears traffic complaints

Buckley resident Robert Noll, who lives in the Copperwynd development on the city’s northeast side, shared a complaint during the July 14 meeting of the Buckley City Council.

Noll said that when he tried to leave his neighborhood on the Saturday of Log Show weekend, he encountered a 45-minute delay; there is no alternative route for getting out of Copperwynd.

After briefly relating his struggle to meander through the pedestrian and vehicular traffic that existed on that sunny June 27, he presented a handful of letters to Buckley Mayor Pat Johnson, Police Chief James Arsanto and City Administrator David Schmidt. Three letters were from other Copperwynd residents who expressed similar headaches in getting through the labyrinth of humanity and cars that day.

Noll’s grievances fell upon sympathetic ears.

Johnson apologized for the ordeal, but reminded Noll that it was “a perfect day weather-wise” and there was no way that the planning committee could have anticipated the record crowds that turned out for this year’s big event. Ron Callis, president of the Buckley Chamber of Commerce, added that he would be willing to sit down with Johnson, Schmidt and the log show’s planning group to resolve the traffic problem.

Arsanto concurred that the closing of River Road to accommodate the vendors – in tandem with the foot traffic from the parade and the dispersing of the parade entries – created some major obstacles for nearby residents. A roundtable discussion, aimed at finding a solution, is imperative prior to next year’s Log Show, he said.

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