Earth movers have been busy busting up ramshackle
tennis courts and an old RC track to make room for six homes that
will be built on the site — which actually abuts 12th Street — in
the coming months. Brad Young, a developer and house-flipper who
moved here three years ago, believes the location will
flourish.
“I’m really looking forward to building there,” he
said, noting it’s within walking distance of the ferry. “I think
the market is really good in Bremerton.”
Google Earth view of the
site.
Each residence, constructed by Young’s company
Spectrum Homes, will be about 1,600 square-feet and will include
garages and covered decks. The construction comes at a time when
the city has
serious demand for housing.
The area has seen its share of changes over the
years. Before the Warren Avenue Bridge was constructed in 1958,
11th Street didn’t even reach Warren Avenue due to an embankment
near Chester Avenue. The
Pee Wees have long practiced at the playfield and tennis courts
at 11th and Warren were once home to city league matches. There was
also a
Girl Scout’s hall on the site, according to former Kitsap
Sun Editor Chuck Stark.
Bremerton may be Kitsap’s urban center, but don’t go
telling the wildlife. From bald eagles up high to whales
deep in the Sound, there’s an amazing array of creatures that share
this city where we live.
On this week’s Bremerton Beat Blast, you’ll see I’ve found a
pretty amazing bird within Madrona Trails in East Bremerton.
Q: What’s up with all of the construction work on Second
Street, within and around the headquarters of Kitsap Credit
Union?
A: This is one I’ve been hearing a lot lately. Portions of the
credit union’s parking garage have been fenced off and construction
crews have been digging a trench along Second Street outside the
garage (pictured).
Photos by Larry
Steagall.
I spoke with Leah Olson, the credit union’s vice president for
marketing, to get the scoop.
“Water has been leaking into the underground parking garage,”
she told me.
The company hired engineers to analyze how the leaks were
occurring and following about three years’ research, the project to
fix them began following the Blackberry Festival over Labor Day
weekend, Olson said.
Plugging the leaks is not an easy process and the work will
continue into December, Olson said. But she noted that the downtown
branch will remain open for business through it all, and the
company wanted to make sure to minimize impact to its
membership.
The Kitsap Credit Union opened its headquarters downtown in July
2006.
The departure of the USS Nimitz Wednesday
came as a bit of a surprise. While a friend told me that
Bremerton’s second aircraft carrier was heading out,
my garage door opener was still working fine.
Alas, when I checked in with Naval
Base Kitsap-Bremerton officials Wednesday morning, the massive ship
was already moving out into Sinclair Inlet.
I pedaled down to Bachmann Park in
Manette for a view of the 1,100 foot-long
carrier, a major muscle in our country’s permanent military
force, and its 3,000-strong crew. The ship is headed out for sea
trials.
Later, I headed up to East 30th
Street, as the Nimitz passed through Rich Passage and into the
wider Puget Sound.
The Nimitz, which turns 42 this next
May, is the fleet’s oldest carrier. It was homeported in Bremerton
following its 16-month, $240 million overhaul,
and will remain here until at least 2019.
Did you get photos? Send them to me
at josh.farley@kitsapsun.com and I will upload them
here.
Jessica Perkins got these shots
of the Nimitz as it departed Rich Passage.Photo by Jessica
Perkins.A couple of great shots by Matt
King of the Nimitz with Seattle as the backdrop.Photo by Matt
King.Passing by Bremerton. Photo by
Leslie Peterson.Photos from Manchester by
Barbara DaZelle.Photo by Barbara
DaZelle.
Bremerton High School’s band continues to improve under
the tutelage of Max Karler. And this month, you’ll have
the chance to push the program higher. The Lions
Club is hosting “Knights in Harmony” at the Admiral Theater to
raise money for the instrumental music program at the high school.
(More
details are here.)
Elsewhere on the Bremerton Beat Blast this month, you’ll
learn:
The only thing that saved Stephenson Canyon
from development was the canyon itself. Its steep,
fern-lined terrain made it too hard to clear for houses as World
War II-era Bremerton boomed.
Lots of ferns cover the
canyon’s walls.
Today, it’s a hidden gem in the
midst of the urban neighborhoods that make up Sheridan Park. And
this Saturday, we will do some exploring of this 27-acre oasis on
the Kitsap Sun’s latest Story Walk.
In October 1942, the recently-established
Bremerton Housing Authority opened the first homes at Sheridan
Park, the remnants of which you can still find there
today. They put people in them so fast the electricity wasn’t even
working when the first tenants moved in, according to an article in
the Bremerton Sun. But they could not build within the canyon, even
as the population of Bremerton grew from 15,000 to 85,000 during
those war years.
The US Public Housing
Authority sold the canyon, and the property around it, to
Bremerton in 1958, according to Bremerton parks department
records. Ruth Reese, a Bremerton historian, told me
that a generation of children who grew up around it took advantage
of their natural surroundings, playing on its trails and giant
stumps.
Later, however, it languished.
People started dumping trash there. Children stopped playing and
the trails seemed to attract a seedier element. But in 2008, some
federal money and community projects to clean up the canyon brought
the canyon back into the community fold.
Still, I have talked with some residents who feel the
park is not safe, and have observed drug use there. Most
disturbingly, a level 3 sex offender is accused of
groping and assaulting two women on the trails in July. He
remains in the Kitsap County Jail awaiting trial. (It’s story no. 4
on the Bremerton Beat Blast below.)
This Story Walk aims to accomplish two things:
Learn the history and the layout of this magnificent
green space, so you may enjoy it in the future;
Get tips on how you can stay safe within the canyon,
with help from Bremerton Police Sgt. Tim Garrity, who will speak at
the walk.
One of Bremerton’s most historic and picturesque streets
won’t become Navy property anytime soon — though word was it could
have.
Rumors have been circulating on Gregory Way — which runs
parallel to the edge of the Navy’s Bremerton base and the Puget
Sound Naval Shipyard — of a federal takeover.
Mary Whitney, whose family home has been on the street half a
century, said she’d heard the Navy was interested in expanding its
buffer with the city. I started looking into the claim myself, and
while it is entirely possible the Navy discussed the option, the
Navy officially went public with the rumor being a “myth.”
I also confirmed that with Navy Spokeswoman Silvia Klatman.
“The rumor that the Navy would like to purchase Gregory Way
property as a buffer has been circulated for a few years and was
addressed most recently in the Joint Land Use Study,” Klatman told
me. “The Navy currently has no plans or funding requests to
purchase property on Gregory Way.”
This home is currently for sale
on the road for $225,000.
If you haven’t visited Gregory Way, you’re missing out on a
beautiful trek through venerable architecture and formidable
trees. Heidi Witherspoon, who wrote a story for the Sun about
the street’s revival in 2001, described it this way: “Craftsman
bungalows mingle with Mediterranean stucco villas and English-style
brick cottages.” There are also towering conifers that date back to
the city’s roots.
It’s also the same street upon which Frank Wetzel, author and
editor of the “Victory
Gardens & Barrage Balloons” that chronicled Bremerton’s war
years, grew up.
It was once Second Street until the Navy changed it to honor a
Navy captain named Luther Gregory.
This boat is bound for
Bremerton, even if your receipt says otherwise.
You’ve heard this one before. On my
way back from Seattle a few weeks ago, the attendant that sold me
my ferry ticket to board the Bremerton boat marked me down as
heading to Bainbridge.
I politely protested. He said it didn’t matter. I
insisted that, as a reporter, I had been told repeatedly by ferry
officials that it did matter. He called his boss. His boss told him
it didn’t matter.
My actual receipt.
I left with my receipt and plenty of questions for
ferries officials. Once again, a Bremerton rider had been counted
as heading to Bainbridge, as I’d heard many times before. Only this
time, I witnessed it with my own eyes.
No, Sterling said. The attendants should be marking
them down correctly. And his supervisor should’ve voided the sale
and started the process again. Sterling said the staff would be
getting a “written reminder” to ensure accuracy.
“This is something that comes up from time to time,”
Sterling said.
Why it’s important: The ferry system uses those
ridership statistics for planning its route capacity. So it is a
big deal, and if you find yourself in a similar situation, please
let me know.
In my own case, the attendant vowed to count the next
two motorists as going to Bremerton regardless, as a consolation
prize.
I’m puzzled about why this keeps happening. I can
only chalk it up to a disconnect between those managing the ferries
and the people selling the tickets. It only applies when you drive
your vehicle on the vessel in Seattle; walk-on passengers buy a
specific ticket.
But has it affected the statistics? Hard to say.
The Bainbridge route indeed has higher ridership.
Bainbridge’s
carried 6.3 million riders in 2015; Bremerton’s carried 2.7
million. But of those, 25 percent drove on the ferry in
Bremerton, compared with 30 percent on Bainbridge in 2015. This
might just be Bremerton’s typically-high walk-on passenger counts
but if attendants continue to count Bremerton’s vehicles as
Bainbridge’s, it stands to reason it will have an
effect.
But for some Bremerton ferry riders, getting the
wrong receipt is a symptom of a bigger issue: That their route is
treated differently. Bainbridge has vessels
built in the 1990s; Bremerton’s are late-60s era models.
Bainbridge has more sailings. One commuter I talked to even feels
the terminal in Seattle is nicer on the Bainbridge side. And last
week, when the Kaleetan ferry experienced steering issues,
passengers to Bremerton were ultimately taken to Bainbridge, where
a bus waited to take them home. Generally, when a Bainbridge vessel
goes out of service, it is quickly replaced, setting off a domino
effect that impacts the Bremerton run.
Even the credit card system at Colman Dock doesn’t
acknowledge Bremerton. Regardless of the destination the attendant
marks you down for, your credit card statement will say
“WSFERRIES-BAINBRIDGE,” as the line item no matter
what.
Here comes
Chimacum.
I asked Sterling if he hears such complaints about
favoritism.
“We hear
from most routes from time to time that they believe other routes
get more attention,” he told me.
The San Juans routes, for instance,
feel Seattle “get more than they do,” he said.
“I can tell you that WSF is focused
on the system as a whole,” Sterling said. “Bremerton is one of our
core central sound routes.”
He closed with one final point:
Guess who’s getting a
brand new $123 million ferry next spring?
But when it comes to receipts, it appears the only
way to ensure your trip counts to its proper destination is to keep
a close eye on it and contact the ferry system if you’re
Bainbridged* by mistake. I’ll be happy to help, too.
Road construction typically declines as summer ends and
the rains of fall return. But around Bremerton, have
you noticed the construction cones are lingering?
Here’s a roundup of road construction projects, and when you can
expect things will wrap up.
Riddell Road: A joint venture between the
city and Kitsap County got this road, on the northern edge of
Bremerton, repaved. Work was completed this week (pictured) though
Bremerton crews still have to add markings to the roadway itself.
The city paid $60,000 to the county to complete the effort, which
came from the Transportation Benefit District.
Austin Drive: The city received about
$700,000 in federal funding to repave the entirety of the
roadway, between Kitsap Way and Erland’s Point Road. An
agreement was reached with the Navy to also repave a portion of
Higbee Road, which goes to the Naval Hospital. Plus, in a nod to
pedestrians crossing the road inside NAD Park, a “tabletop”
intersection will be added that slows cars.
Work will begin Monday and last about two weeks.
Kitsap Lake
Junction island: This sounds more exotic than it
really is, but if you’ve ever tried to cross runway sized
Kitsap Way near Harlow Drive, it can feel like a real-life game
of Frogger. No more. A pedestrian “refuge” island means you can go
halfway across and stop and a crosswalk will guide the way. The
concrete work here is nearly complete but there’s one more
component that remains: a “rapid flashing beacon” that will light
up to alert motorists that pedestrians are crossing.
The poles and electronics won’t be installed until late
December, City Engineer Tom Knuckey said. But in the meantime, most
of the construction cones should go away.
Here’s what’s happening at the other four intersections those
federal dollars are enhancing. In each case, construction cones
should go away by early October but expect crews to return to erect
poles and the electronic aspects at the end of 2016.
6th Street and High Avenue: The intersection is
getting a “HAWK” signal that will allow pedestrians to stop
traffic to stop Sixth at the push of a button.
1st Street and Charleston Boulevard: The
crossing is getting a rapid flashing beacon like the one on Kitsap
Way at Harlow Drive.
11th Street and High Avenue: Aside from the new
concrete curbs, the intersection will get “countdown clocks” that
inform pedestrians how long they have to cross.
11th and High.
Kitsap Way at 11th Street: The new concrete
curbs are in, and the intersection will get “countdown clocks” that
inform pedestrians how long they have to cross.
Tracyton Guardrail: City officials cannot seem
to get a bid — at least yet — from a construction company to
construct a $100,000 guardrail along Tracyton Beach Road. They’ve
vowed to keep trying, and that construction would happen in the
fall. “We just need to get it done,” Knuckey said. A
young woman was killed there early this year.
