Seeking Silverdale and Central Kitsap

Warning: constant() [function.constant]: Couldn't find constant TT_TH8US_LEN in /home/psblogs/public_html/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/tweet-this.php on line 1821

Warning: constant() [function.constant]: Couldn't find constant TT_TH8US_LEN in /home/psblogs/public_html/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/tweet-this.php on line 1821

Warning: constant() [function.constant]: Couldn't find constant TT_TH8US_LEN in /home/psblogs/public_html/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/tweet-this.php on line 1821

Warning: constant() [function.constant]: Couldn't find constant TT_TH8US_LEN in /home/psblogs/public_html/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/tweet-this.php on line 1821

Warning: constant() [function.constant]: Couldn't find constant TT_TH8US_LEN in /home/psblogs/public_html/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/tweet-this.php on line 1821

Kitsap County is trying to deal with how a new commercial development in the Silverdale area, along the extension of Waaga way, might take shape. In a meeting monday, developers and property owners hoping to be part of the Waaga Way Town Center told county commissioners that they feel some of the proposed design standards are too restrictive.

See Brynn Grimley’s story from Kitsapsun.com here.

The design standards set rules for building sizes, roof lines, landscaping and setbacks, and attempt to make the development in the commercial zone much more pedestrian friendly than what you’ll see in the commercial core of Silverdale.

The question is whether those requirements add such costs to the development of the property that rents will be too high to attract commercial tenants.

Also of concern to those who opposed the standards is the 125,000 square foot limit on building size. That would allow a store the size of Silverdale’s Target, but not a store like Costco or Wal-Mart, according to the county’s special projects manager, Eric Baker, quoted in Brynn’s story.

Commissioners are taking the matter under advisement and may decide on the standards next Monday. Now’s the time to comment on the proposal if you wish.

The county, acting on behalf of all of us, should impose some standards on this kind of development. We can see what happens when no standards are imposed — just look at the area around the mall and the traffic and pedestrian nightmare that is the core of Silverdale. And most of us have had the experience of shopping in an area that was well designed for that purpose and how that is much more of a pleasant experience than dealing with the commercial core of Silverdale.

— Jeff

Warning: constant() [function.constant]: Couldn't find constant TT_TH8US_LEN in /home/psblogs/public_html/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/tweet-this.php on line 1821

Warning: constant() [function.constant]: Couldn't find constant TT_TH8US_LEN in /home/psblogs/public_html/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/tweet-this.php on line 1821

Warning: constant() [function.constant]: Couldn't find constant TT_TH8US_LEN in /home/psblogs/public_html/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/tweet-this.php on line 1821

Warning: constant() [function.constant]: Couldn't find constant TT_TH8US_LEN in /home/psblogs/public_html/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/tweet-this.php on line 1821

Warning: constant() [function.constant]: Couldn't find constant TT_TH8US_LEN in /home/psblogs/public_html/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/tweet-this.php on line 1821

As regular readers may know, I try to do a lot of walking around Silverdale. It’s not necessarily easy; nor is it always fun to walk in a place that’s clearly designed to encourage vehicle use rather than pedestrian comfort. An ironic sidelight is this question: Shouldn’t a place that seems designed to encourage vehicle use be a lot easier to drive around than it is?

But really, the pedestrian unfriendliness of Silverdale is not the topic of this post. What I wanted to talk about today is what I see when I’m walking.

Walking slows your pace and lets you see a lot more than you do when you drive the same path. And what I see every time I walk in Silverdale is dozens of drivers talking on their cell phones while operating their vehicles. There was certainly enough publicity when the state law went into effect prohibiting hands-on use of cell phones while driving. So I doubt that anyone can say they are unaware of the law. They are simply ignoring it. And they’re ignoring it in great numbers. I’d like to see the cops start emphasis patrols to stop people who are violating this law.

Before you flash the thought that what I’m proposing is a ridiculous over-reaction, consider this information from “Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (and What It Says About Us)” a book I’ve checked out from Kitsap Regional Library and am now reading.

In a chapter titled “How Our Eyes and Minds Betray Us on the Road,” author Tom Vanderbilt looks at a variety of studies that have been done on how we perceive the world around us when we drive, and how we often look to the wrong keys to make decisions about how fast other cars are going and how close we can safely get to other vehicles. He also talks about studies that show how our attention focuses when we are “multi-tasking.” In short, safe driving requires us to keep our eyes moving and our attention expanded to perceive every potential risk. But studies show that when we are working on a problem, like answering a question someone asks us on the phone, our eyes stop moving and tend to fixate longer on one place. (more…)

Warning: constant() [function.constant]: Couldn't find constant TT_TH8US_LEN in /home/psblogs/public_html/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/tweet-this.php on line 1821

Warning: constant() [function.constant]: Couldn't find constant TT_TH8US_LEN in /home/psblogs/public_html/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/tweet-this.php on line 1821

Warning: constant() [function.constant]: Couldn't find constant TT_TH8US_LEN in /home/psblogs/public_html/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/tweet-this.php on line 1821

Warning: constant() [function.constant]: Couldn't find constant TT_TH8US_LEN in /home/psblogs/public_html/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/tweet-this.php on line 1821

Warning: constant() [function.constant]: Couldn't find constant TT_TH8US_LEN in /home/psblogs/public_html/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/tweet-this.php on line 1821

I took advantage of the sun on Monday to take a walk on the Clear Creek Trail.

It was obvious that I wasn’t the only one who thought about doing so. While in the past few months there have been times when I haven’t seen anyone while taking walks on the trail, on President’s Day afternoon, there were dozens of people out on the trail.

When I was just about home yesterday, I ran into a neighbor walking her dog, and we talked for a while. I said I had been on the trail, and she commented that the trail is like Silverdale’s crown jewel. I couldn’t agree more, and neither could the people I encountered on the trail Monday.

What struck me as I walked, and as I greeted people who I saw, was that the simple act of walking in public brings people together. There wasn’t a single person I passed yesterday who didn’t return my greeting, or initiate a greeting. I had more human contact in an hour along the trail than you get in a year driving a car around Silverdale.

We absolutely need to find a way to make Silverdale more pedestrian friendly. If anything, the way Silverdale was designed discourages walking between stores and from one area to another. Long term, Silverdale businesses will be better served if they encourage people to leave their cars and walk in the community. And, long term, Silverdale residents will be better served, healthwise, if they leave their cars in one place and walk to multiple spots to do their errands.

As a community, we should be looking for ways to expand the Clear Creek Trail, and to make walking in Silverdale a pleasure, not a scary experience.

— Jeff

Warning: constant() [function.constant]: Couldn't find constant TT_TH8US_LEN in /home/psblogs/public_html/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/tweet-this.php on line 1821

Warning: constant() [function.constant]: Couldn't find constant TT_TH8US_LEN in /home/psblogs/public_html/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/tweet-this.php on line 1821

Warning: constant() [function.constant]: Couldn't find constant TT_TH8US_LEN in /home/psblogs/public_html/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/tweet-this.php on line 1821

Warning: constant() [function.constant]: Couldn't find constant TT_TH8US_LEN in /home/psblogs/public_html/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/tweet-this.php on line 1821

Warning: constant() [function.constant]: Couldn't find constant TT_TH8US_LEN in /home/psblogs/public_html/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/tweet-this.php on line 1821

 

I took off from Silverdale this morning to take a walk. One of my favorite places to hike within 90 minutes of home is on Dungeness Spit. It’s usually dry there when rain is falling everywhere else (though it was sunny everywhere today, a wonderful break from what we’ve had) and it’s also a relatively flat, easy hike. There’s almost always something to see on the walk. I saw a small hawk this morning take off from a driftwood snag not more than 15 feet from me. 

I got there early this morning, right after the park opened at 8 a.m. The light for the first part of the walk was very warm since the sun was still low in the sky. I enjoyed the water and the fact that I was literally alone on the spit for the entire time I walked out toward the lighthouse. Only after I turned around and started back in did I see someone else on the beach.

I’m not saying we can create a place like Dungeness Spit in Silverdale. We don’t have the type of shoreline or the backdrop. But people really don’t want to have to drive for 90 minutes to take a long walk. The Clear Creek Trail is Silverdale’s answer to the Dungesness Spit walk. … (more…)

Warning: constant() [function.constant]: Couldn't find constant TT_TH8US_LEN in /home/psblogs/public_html/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/tweet-this.php on line 1821

Warning: constant() [function.constant]: Couldn't find constant TT_TH8US_LEN in /home/psblogs/public_html/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/tweet-this.php on line 1821

Warning: constant() [function.constant]: Couldn't find constant TT_TH8US_LEN in /home/psblogs/public_html/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/tweet-this.php on line 1821

Warning: constant() [function.constant]: Couldn't find constant TT_TH8US_LEN in /home/psblogs/public_html/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/tweet-this.php on line 1821

Warning: constant() [function.constant]: Couldn't find constant TT_TH8US_LEN in /home/psblogs/public_html/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/tweet-this.php on line 1821

 

My wife and I like to avoid driving the car when we can, and we try to get some exercise by walking. So we will sometimes walk from our home on the Ridgetop down into central Silverdale to go to a movie, to shop, or just to be out on a nice day. (I know, nice days have been rare recently, but that’s a subject for a weather post, not this one.)

A few things strike me as we walk in Silverdale.

First of all, we seldom see many other pedestrians. We can walk Ridgetop Boulevard from Hillsboro Road by Ridgetop Junior High all the way pass the mall to the theaters and pass only one or two other pedestrians along the way. I think that fact is tied directly to a second observation.

Silverdale is not built to encourage, reward, or even tolerate pedestrians. There are sidewalks, but the sidewalks tend to hug the curbs. Cars whizz past at speeds that typically exceed the limit, and the proximity of the traffic creates a sense of unease. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve thought about what would happen to me if I took a false step on one of our walks and tripped. I could easily imagine myself falling into the path of a car, which would have little opportunity to slow or swerve out of the way. Walking Silverdale’s sidewalks is not a pleasant diversion. When you do so, your senses are heightened and you feel on alert for danger.

(more…)