Tag Archives: Winslow Way

Bainbridge Island police blotter, Nov. 5

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The following items were taken from Bainbridge Island Police Department incident reports by reporter Ethan Fowler. For more blotter, visit bainbridgeislander.com and click on Bainbridge blog link on the right side of the screen.

Crime log from Oct. 26 to Nov. 1: 3 found property, 3 traffic accidents, 2 theft arrest charge, 2 suspicious persons/situations, 2 theft in the third degree, 2 identity thefts, 2 miscellaneous, 1 forgery/counterfeit, 1 residential burglary, 1 hit and run unattended property damage, 1 harassment, 1 assault in the fourth degree, 1 mental investigation, 1 domestic verbal, 1 agency assist, 1 warrant arrest by outside agency.

Nov. 1

Assault in the fourth degree: A 38-year-old man and a 52-year-old man were involved in a fight at Waterfront Park at 2:48 a.m. The younger man accused the older man of untying his boat’s dingy. This led the younger man to push the older man and cause him to fall into the younger man’s boat and the older man to hit his side. The older man told police that this caused him to beat up the younger man, who had minor injuries to his face. The older man said he only knew the younger man as a live aboard. It appeared to the police officer at the time that the assaults were mutual. At the request of the younger man, the case was referred to the prosecutor’s office.

Oct. 30

Hit and run/unattended property damage: A 45-year-old woman was a victim of a hit and run at 12:45 p.m. The woman was shopping at a Winslow Way grocery store between 12:45-1 p.m. when a store employee informed her of the incident. The employee also gave the woman the license plate number of the vehicle that hit her car while it was parked in the north parking lot adjacent to Winslow Way. The woman’s car was damaged on the left rear quarter panel. Witnesses observed the woman’s car rocking after it was hit.

Miscellaneous: A 61-year-old woman reported a jewelry store on the 100 block of High School Road had mischarged her for watch repairs totaling more than $1,000. The woman said she requested only an estimate on what it would cost to repair and clean the watches, which were 100 and 70 years old, when she dropped them off.

Oct. 29

Identity theft: A 41-year-old man living on the 3000 block of Point White Drive reported the last four digits of his social security number were used to open a cable account. The suspect charged more than $500 to the account. The victim learned of the theft when he was contacted by a collection agency.

Oct. 27

Suspicious persons/situations: At 2:20 p.m. on the 4000 block of Rockaway Bluff Road, a 44-year-old woman reported a white van registered in Bremerton was in her driveway for the second straight day. When the female homeowner approached the white man in his 50s that was driving the vehicle, the man said he was looking for Mills Heights. But when the woman told the man where they were, the man said “fantastic.” A neighbor observed the van in the woman’s driveway the day before.

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Fire Commissioners to determine whether to place facilities levy at Oct. 9 meeting

Bainbridge Island Fire Commissioners will likely determine at their Oct. 9 meeting with other Emergency Fire Watch Guards whether they will place a potential 20-year, $17 million facilities bond measure for a possible election in February. The bond would finance replacing the island’s two oldest fire stations and remodeling its newest.

The commissioners made the decision at Thursday’s night meeting after the Bainbridge Island City Council decided Tuesday at its meeting that they needed additional community input regarding a new police station that would possibly be co-located with the municipal court.

To accomplish this, the City Council will have a public comment period about the range of options regarding a new police station at its 7 p.m. Oct. 7 study session in the Council Chamber.

The city of Bainbridge Island is looking at various options, including a new stand-alone police facility in Winslow, either to the north or south near City Hall, as well as a combined police and fire facility located at the site of the current Bainbridge Island Fire Department (BIFD) Station 21.

A June report by an architect firm stated building a new combined police-fire facility would cost $2.3 million less at $15.3 million than the $17.6 million combined total it would take to build separate fire and police facilities.

A June phone poll indicated the support for a joint Bainbridge fire/police station was overwhelming with 87 percent of island residents out of 200 favoring a design for a new main fire station on Madison Avenue that included a new city police station.

At Tuesday’s City Council meeting, Seattle architect firm Mackenzie delivered a report analyzing the feasibility of the preferred options on public safety and court facilities being considered by the City Council. This report is available on the city of Bainbridge Island website at: www.bainbridgewa.gov/DocumentCenter/Home/View/3987. Additional information and background about this project can be found on the project page on the City’s website: www.bainbridgewa.gov/528/Police-Facility-Planning.

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City Council noticing proliferation of sandwich boards

Photo by Ethan Fowler / Special to the Kitsap Sun A pedestrian crosses Ericksen Avenue as he walks along Winslow Way next to a number of business sandwich boards.
Photo by Ethan Fowler / Special to the Kitsap Sun
A pedestrian crosses Ericksen Avenue as he walks along Winslow Way next to a number of business sandwich boards.

Even though last month the Bainbridge City Council pleased Winslow Way merchants with the process it and the city took in updating an ordinance for the retail use of sidewalks for cafes and displays, the City Council is still keeping a close eye on the seemingly growing use of sandwich boards by island businesses.

At the July 21 meeting, council member Steve Bonkowski wanted to add an item under council discussion about sandwich boards since a number of people had made comments about the influx of sandwich boards and trees advertising a hospital on public land. Bonkowski said he would refrain from talking about the use of the trees for another time and would focus the discussion on sandwich boards.

“At least to me, there are a lot more (sandwich boards) than I ever envisioned possible,” Bonkowski said. “It’s almost as if we’re deforesting the island to make sandwich boards.”

Bonkowski said it appeared there were two different varieties of sandwich boards: ones that advertise to consumers to “come on in” and others that direct the locations of businesses.

City Manager Doug Schulze said that on July 21 that the city’s Code Compliance officer found 39 signs from Madison Avenue, along Winslow Way, to State Route 305 with two violations. On July 18, the Code Compliance officer found 43 signs and only two violations for multiple signs that were off-site.

Schulze said he’s aware businesses use sandwich boards also on High School Road.

During the recent economic downturn, Schulze said cities often gave businesses more latitude on sandwich boards for advertising. Schulze also used a PowerPoint presentation to show the City Council some examples of how cities, including Seattle, use uniform directional signs to direct people to businesses.

“It doesn’t look like it’s a matter of people not complying with the current ordinance, it looks like it’s just what the current ordinance allows,” Schulze said. “What I would suggest is we look at the (sign) ordinance, but at the same time that we’re working with the businesses so that we can find some solutions that can work with the businesses as well. Rather than just looking at eliminating the signage.”

Bonkowski then asked Schulze whether something could be done this summer to impact the issue.

“I think it would be pretty difficult to get something constructed and installed that quickly,” Schulze said. “But, I think, certainly for next summer, it’s a reasonable timeframe.”

Council member Wayne Roth noted there are city directories in the Bainbridge ferry terminal and Columbia Bank that are updated, already in place and providing solutions to the situation. Roth said he’s used them many times with tourists who needed help finding food and clothing locations.

“There’s always been – old Winslow Way/new Winslow Way – some sandwich boards somewhere,” Roth said. “But it is now that everyone has one out and ‘Now I need one, too, (philosophy)’ and it has gotten to be … hard to find a business without one.”

Schulze said he planned to have a discussion with the business community about sandwich boards in the near future and revisit the issue with the City Council possibly as early as September.

Any change in the city’s sign ordinance would require public hearings.

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A chilly start for sales in downtown Winslow

The unveiling of a “friendlier” Winslow Way hasn’t sparked a resurgence for downtown businesses. At least not yet.

Sales tax figures released for the first six months of 2012 showed receipts from downtown Winslow were down 1.9 percent compared to the same period last year ($211,718 compared to $215,863). That figure might seem insignificant until you recall what Winslow Way looked like in the first half of 2011:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sales were lower from January to June this year than in 2011, when shoppers braved a jungle of barricades and traffic cones to visit shops. Downtown continued to lose businesses as well, down to 172 from a total of 201 in 2011.

Continue reading →

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Meeting set for turning empty lot into ‘gateway’ park

The group of islanders working to transform the former Unocal gas station lot into a public park has set its first public participation meeting for Feb. 16.

The meeting, which starts at Bainbridge Commons (370 Brien Drive) at 7 p.m., is aimed at gathering ideas for the 1-acre park’s design.

The group got the City Council’s OK on Wednesday to begin the planning process after they promised to foot the entire $300,000 park-building bill.

The site is at the southwest corner of the Winslow Way-Highway 305 intersection. It has sat vacant and surrounded by a fence since 1989.

The group, which calls itself the Bainbridge Park Task Force, considers the site an eyesore, and provides a poor welcome to visitors unloading from the ferry or streaming into Winslow from the highway.

For more information, see their blog here.

PHOTO: Tristan Baurick

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Snow blankets Bainbridge Island

Almost five inches of snow blanketed the island on Wednesday, shutting down schools, cancelling city meetings and keeping many slick roads clear of traffic.

As of 5 p.m., the Bainbridge Island Fire Department had responded to just three weather-related calls.

“People stayed indoors and limited their driving, and I think that helped,” Fire Chief Hank Teran said.

The only reported vehicle accident was a Tuesday night rollover on New Brooklyn Road. The family inside the vehicle suffered no injuries, according to Bainbridge police.

Teran said someone suffered a fractured ankle due to a snow-related fall.

Firefighters responded to a report of power lines down on Lafayette Avenue.

No significant power outages were reported, and no roads were closed.

Teran said the department was bracing itself for the evening commute, when driving conditions could be more difficult.

A light dusting of snow is predicted for late Thursday morning.

Continue reading →

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An artful streetside hangout

The popular bench outside Blackbird Bakery has been replaced with one made of Bainbridge wood and brawn.

Island woodworker Steve Trick and blacksmith Ryan Landworth teamed up to build the hand-forged iron and bronze bench for one of Winslow’s most popular streetside hangouts.

The wood was cut from a black locust tree felled on Bainbridge.

Trick and Landworth donated about $3,000 worth of labor and materials to build the 10-foot-long, 600-pound bench for Blackbird.

“It brings a sense of groundedness and an organic feel to Winslow Way,” Landworth said.

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Winslow, the “little Beirut?”

King 5 News had a piece late last week about the Winslow Way reconstruction project.

Reporter Eric Wilkinson found only discontent among the shoppers, tourists and business owners he spoke with.

One woman went so far as to call Winslow our “little Beirut.”

Another voice noted that shoppers would need the help of Sacajawea to navigate the maze of construction work.

The video is below.

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Winslow Way closures

Both lanes of Winslow Way between Town & Country Market and Madison Avenue are now closed between 5 a.m. and 3 p.m. weekdays.

Traffic is being re-routed through the T&C parking lot to Bjune Drive.

The city has not specified when Winslow Way will re-open for weekday traffic.

The closure will enable work crews to start replacing a storm sewer main. Installation of the main will improve drainage on the south side of the street, where rain has caused puddling and seepage problems, according to the city.

“This re-routing of traffic is a decision that we take very seriously, and one which we believe will help us make up for lost time due to weather conditions,” project administrator Chris Wierzbicki said in a statement.

The south Winslow Way lane will is open after 3 p.m. and all day on weekends.

The city will open up 13 more parking spaces for public use at the City Hall parking lot on Monday to ease downtown parking problems.

For more information about the project, visit winslowstreetsmarts.com.

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