Both Winslow Way lanes will be closed from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. on Monday due to construction. Next week will also see some intermittent closures.

More info from the city is below.

Effective next Monday, April 25, portions of the Winslow Way and Madison Avenue intersection will be closed periodically in relation to the ongoing Winslow Way Reconstruction project.

The daytime disruption will close the south leg of the intersection, eliminating through traffic in a north/south direction, as well as the ability to travel eastbound from any approach. The nighttime disruption will close the entire intersection between 9 pm and 5 am, and will require traffic to be re-routed around Winslow Way in the area between Madison and Ericksen Avenues.

These closures are in addition to the current westbound-only detour on Winslow Way between Madison and Ericksen.
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As you may have read last week, the Bainbridge Island Police Department has a new policy for releasing records to the press.

We must now submit formal records requests to see the level of detail we used to see in previous years.

Not much to update you on, except that it took four days and $20 to get the reports for this week.

In the blotter (below) you’ll find details about that wavy red line that mysteriously appeared along two blocks of Winslow Way sidewalk, and the way police used Facebook and a clever business card trick to catch the alleged painter red-handed (literally).

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The city of Port Orchard is moving ahead with plans to install electric vehicle charging stations in its downtown.

Meanwhile on Bainbridge, where over half of the county’s 22 registered electric vehicles are parked, similar plans have stalled.

Bainbridge City Engineer Chris Wierzbicki says designs for the downsized and delayed Winslow Way project include pre-wiring for charging stations, but that the city lacks funding to install them.

Read more about Port Orchard’s efforts to support EV technology HERE, in South Kitsap reporter Chris Henry’s story.

The City Council is looking for ways to cut costs on the Winslow Way road and utilities improvement project.

The city could save millions if it leaves power lines above ground and reduces the scope of work between Madison and Grow avenues.

Read more about where the project seems to be leaning HERE.

The city is hosting a forum tonight about the Island Gateway development taking shape at the Highway 305-Winslow Way intersection.

Despite a fair amount of opposition to the 60,000-square-foot project, city leaders say the meeting is not aimed at deciding whether or not to halt Gateway’s progress, which now includes a partially-done Kids Discovery Museum and a large pit that will eventually be underground parking.

Rather, the meeting is aimed at informing Gateway’s critics how and why the city let it go forward.

City leaders admit they could have done a better job explaining its processes and getting information out more quickly.

Islanders opposed to the project have made several public information requests, created a website and filed a lawsuit.

Some critics aren’t happy with the goals of tonight’s forum, calling it a “farce” and a “slap in the face.”

For more about the issues surrounding Gateway, check out the story I wrote for Monday’s paper.

Tonight’s forum runs from 7 to 9 p.m. at City Hall.

The design illustration above depicts what the prominent northwest corner of the Winslow Way and Highway 305 intersection may look like in the near future.

A new art museum would anchor the front end (depicted at right) of the proposed Island Gateway project, with about 60,000 square feet of commercial space and a new home for the Kids Discovery Museum to the rear.

The project’s plans call for the removal of the five-acre site’s three existing structures. All new buildings would incorporate green design and the overall site plan features elements to reduce stormwater runoff into Winslow Ravine.

The city’s Design Review Board balked, saying the project’s design doesn’t fit the city’s preferred aesthetic for downtown. The board’s move doesn’t kill the project. The project’s developers, owner Bill Carruthers and architect Matthew Coates, will meet with the board next week to hash out some new ideas.

For my full story on the project, click here.

Below is a site plan showing the full project.

With over $1 million approved for the Winslow Way this week, supporters say the reconstruction project has moved beyond debate and into the realm of action.

But some critics say the debate has only begun.

My coverage of Wednesday’s six hour (!) City Council meeting is below…

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A group of island residents and Winslow business owners drafted a letter stressing that the controversial Winslow Way repair project is a necessary fix that’s good for people and Puget Sound.

We believe there are many neighbors who care passionately about Winslow Way and its future. No other issue has stirred up more ink on paper or created more anxiety.

And rightly so.

Winslow Way is our community living room, where our family and friends stroll and meet up at the bakeries, restaurants, ice creamery, bookstore, galleries, and retail spaces. Winslow Way is where we gather for the holidays – trick or treating, caroling, parading and dancing in the street.

Winslow Way is ultimately the island’s most-used, most-shared place. We should certainly be careful and cautious to not mess up a good thing.

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City Hall watcher Rod Stevens disagrees that a majority of islanders want the Winslow Way repair project to move forward:

A few people have written that we should get on with the Winslow Tomorrow effort since the City Council has duly voted four to three to start construction. This raises interesting questions about the nature of majority rule, and how much “majority” you need to do things in a small community.

The “majority” on the council certainly think they have a mandate to act. Councilman Chris Snow has said “We have the votes”, which is similar to saying “I’m the Decider.” Councilman Barry Peters writes about those opposing the project as being in the “minority”, and while he didn’t say this, this is equivalent to saying “you’re not one of us”. A year or more ago Councilman Kjell Stoknes told those opposing Winslow Tomorrow that “the train has left the station.”

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Despite the city’s shaky financial state, City Council members were assured this week that the $12 million Winslow Way reconstruction project will move along strong and steady.

The project draws its financial stability from grants and utility fees, which are not tied to the city’s sharply declining tax revenue bases, according to city staff.

Read my story here.