Silent support for Graves wall

South Graves Lane residents did their homework and made their case for sound walls to help protect their homes from traffic, so as soon as the city can scrape together the money it should build a barrier.

That's the problem, though. When will the city have $400,000 or more?

The Graves Lane extension on the north side of Highway 50 is going to help a lot of motorists on Carson City's east side. At the same time, it's going to increase the traffic on Graves Lane on the south side of the highway, where residents already are bothered by the noise of a busy street.

As they pointed out Wednesday evening to the Regional Transporation Commission, residents might have been able to live with the 7,000 vehicles a day they expected when they moved to the neighborhood. But traffic already has grown to 12,000 cars a day, and with the extension could reach more than 16,000 cars a day.

Nobody wants to see that happen to their neighborhood.

When can south Graves Lane residents expect some relief? Not real soon, unfortunately.

It looks like construction of a sound wall could be two years away, if it gets approved. The money will have to come from an already-burdened transportation budget, where a number of projects are lined up and waiting for funds.

Paying for a sound wall on south Graves Lane, like any other project, would push something else down the list.

In the meantime, perhaps the residents could adopt a slogan: "Don't honk if you support our sound wall."