Road Warrior

The in basket: Paula Crane, who commutes to Silverdale from Chico Way, proposes a major and a minor change in traffic control between Highway 3 and Byron Street in Silverdale.

She said he doesn’t expect the new roundabout being built midway along that stretch to help with the problems she sees, and proposes relocating the Byron Street traffic signal a block north to Carlton Street.

She said the routine backup from the light at Byron for traffic coming into town, “is caused by heavy traffic and the great frequency of the light on Byron being ‘set off’ so that it goes red for traffic on Silverdale Road.  I have seen it ‘set off’ even by a car on Byron turning RIGHT onto Silverdale Way to go north.  At times, just one car waiting to turn left onto Silverdale Way triggers the cycle and all the traffic on Silverdale Way has to wait.”

The traffic backup in the other direction also is exacerbated by the Byron signal, she said. “The traffic now starts to line up in the left lane all the way back at the Kitsap Mall Boulevard for folks who are going straight south out of Silverdale.”

Two collateral problems are rear-end accidents on northbound Silverdale Way because drivers don’t realize they are coming to an urban center and the Byron signal, and “sometimes cars entering from Byron, on their green light, don’t have enough space for all the waiting cars to enter Silverdale Way.”

She suggests that making Carlton Street the way in and out of Old Town Silverdale by moving the signal from Byron to there would have several benefits.

“There would be more room on Silverdale Way for cars to wait for the cycle (the road is four lanes there) and folks coming north would know they were in an urban area and have more time to react to stopped cars. There would be more room for cars coming from Old Town to get onto Silverdale Way on the left turn signal.”

In the short term, she proposed, “please get them to make the signal (at Byron) take longer to be triggered during rush hour.  I think that there is some delay already but I don’t think it is enough.”

The out basket: Jeff Shea, Kitsap County traffic engineer, said, “Moving the signal to Carlton has its issues. First, it would be very expensive, and the limited storage gain for queuing traffic would be minimal.  Also Carlton would have to be widened for a turn lane, which means taking private property.

“This intersection is less than 300 feet from the next signalized intersection (at Anderson Hill), which could result in conflicts between left turning vehicles at each intersection, and Munson Street would be right in the middle of the channelization for this signalized intersection.

“Ms. Crane’s concept of moving the signal to a location with more lanes is the reason we have a project in the county Transportation Improvement Program to add lanes to the Byron intersection.  This project at Byron (it’s listed as No. 54 on the TIP, scheduled for 2016) extends the two lanes well south of the intersection and north to connect with the two existing lanes on Silverdale Way.

“We recognize the Byron intersection as a problem area,” Jeff said. “We have the signal timing set to give the main line, Silverdale Way, the majority of the green time. We have to give time to Byron at some point, but it is on an as-needed basis only, with limited green time.  The right turning vehicles are on a 15-second delay before the light will go green.  During congested times right turning vehicles can’t get out, so this triggers more frequently than other times.

“The county did a corridor study of that area last year because of the significant congestion it sees there,” Jeff said. “The recommended solution was a four-lane section of roadway from SR 3 to the five-lane section on Silverdale Way.

“The new roundabout is being built to address intersection capacity issues and not congestion.  But, it should be noted that is being built so that it can be restriped in the future to accommodate two lanes of traffic.  The two-lane configuration will not be striped until we have the added lanes from both directions.”

The in basket: JoAnne Stefanac writes “I have read, with interest, the list of upcoming/wished-for road projects in the area.  I noticed that the intersection of Sunnyslope Road and Highway 3 is on that list.

“Do you know what that upgrade is going to be?  Are they wanting to put a (please, God!) light at that intersection or (please, no, God!) one of those awful traffic circles?

“Living in Sunnyslope, I have to face this intersection quite often and, in all honesty, it scares me every time,” JoAnne said, “especially if I’m headed south on 3, going towards Belfair. There is so much traffic racing up that hill (everyone trying to outdo each other before they lose their passing lane) and there’s always someone wanting to turn left onto Sunnyslope Road.  Try that turn on a Friday around 5 p.m. and, well, good luck! ”
The out basket: Richard Warren, project director the long-range analysis,  oddly named the Bremerton Economic Development Study, told me the study recommends either a traffic signal or a roundabout at Sunnyslope Road and Highway 3, but doesn’t choose between them.

The completed study is online at http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/BremertonEcon/ and that intersection is discussed on pages 89 and 98. Click on “Status” to see the report. Sunnyslope/3 got a ranking of 71 points, with other projects ranked at 46 to 75, in terms of importance.
“Please note that there is currently no funding committed or allocated for any of the project recommendations in the BEDS report.” Richard added.

The in basket: When I was just out of high school, I was driving my dad’s old Chevy station wagon with three friends with me, leaving a round of golf at what was then Clover Valley Golf Course in South Kitsap.

As we approached Sedgwick Road on Long Lake Road, a car that had stopped at the stop sign ahead of us was beginning to pull onto Sedgwick.

“Don’t stop!” one of my passengers said. “If he can make it, you can make it.”

Not that sound of an argument, of course, as we couldn’t see what was coming on Sedgwick on either said of the intersection. But I did what he suggested. Luckily, no cross-traffic was close to us and I made it across.

I think of that reckless decision from time to time, as I did after reading a report in a the May 13 Sunday Kitsap Sun about how much more likely a teenager is to die in a traffic accident if there area other teens and no adult in the car. The chances more that double.

My stupidity that day a half century ago was a textbook demonstration of that hazard.

The story says every state now has limitations on what a drivers license allows a teenager to do. I looked up this state’s rule, then asked State Trooper Russ Winger, spokesman for the local WSP detachment, whether violating it is a primary or secondary infraction, and how tough it is to enforce it.

The out basket: The law says a licensed driver under age 18 can’t drive with passengers under the age of 20 for the first six months after getting the license, unless the passengers are members of the driver’s  immediate family.

For the next six months, the teen can’t carry more than three passengers who are under 20 years old and aren’t members of his or her immediate family.

Also, for the first 12 months, the teen can’t drive between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. unless a licensed driver age 25 or old is in the car.

And an under-18 driver also cannot use a cell phone while at the wheel, even with a hands-free device.

Trooper Winger said violating those rules is a secondary offense, meaning the driver has to be stopped for some primary offense, such as speeding, before the licensing limitations can support a citation.

Since holding a cell phone to one’s ear or texting is an infraction for all ages, that would be such a primary offense.

“I don’t think it is a frequent violation we enforce,” he said of the license limitations, “but there is some.

“When an officer stops a driver who has the intermediate restriction (the officer) can ask questions but a driver could lie and say the passenger is a family member. Passengers can also lie. I don’t know how much of that goes on.  We are limited in what we can ask of a passenger that has not committed a violation.

“The night time restriction,” he said, “is easy to enforce because of the time of day and/or the passenger would have to prove they are licensed and the (correct) age because they are in effect ‘allowing’ the provisional  to drive with them.

“The bottom line,” Russ said, “is that you must first have a valid reason to stop and contact the driver.”

The in basket: Kay Wilson e-mailed me after reading the recent Road Warrior about Bremerton introducing some flashing yellow left-turn lights this year, to say, “Every time I sit behind a car waiting to turn left while the yellow light is flashing, I think of retired Bremerton police officer Tom Pratt. When I worked at the city of Bremerton, I was privileged to take at least three driver education refresher courses from Officer Pratt. Later, he was replaced by instruction videos, which never felt quite as useful, because he was always happy to entertain questions and comments.

“One of the things I remember him advising was that, when waiting in a left-turn lane to turn left, you should pull out into the middle of the intersection and be ready to turn as soon as there was an opening in the traffic. If everyone would do this, he said, more vehicles would be able to make left turns than if they were to wait at the stop line.

“I see some cars doing this at the yellow flashing lights now, and assume it is still legal and recommended, but it would be nice to know for sure.”

The out basket: Well, it’s not ILLEGAL, but puts a driver in a possible bind that could lead to an infraction.

Trooper Russ Winger, public spokesman for the State Patrol here, said, “You can be in the intersection waiting to turn left. However, that light will eventually change to red and if you are stuck in the middle blocking the intersection on red because you failed to estimate oncoming traffic – that is not OK or legal.

“Motorists need to observe oncoming traffic as well as light timing,” he continued. “Driving requires you to assess the situation at all times because it is not static. I encounter flashing left-turn lights and I do just that. I have to make an assessment whether I may get caught with nowhere to go. I personally do not enter the intersection unless I am sure I will be able to complete the turn legally.

“It is not OK or legal to block any intersection (where) other motorists have the right of way, controlled by signage or traffic signals. Many intersections have signs that say just that – Do Not Block Intersection.”

Russ didn’t address it, but a common practice when oncoming traffic keeps drivers from making the turn before their light goes red is to make sure the last oncoming car isn’t going to hurry through and hit them when they turn, then complete the turn on red. Illegal, yes, but not unusual. And with the one-second delay most traffic signals have between going red in one direction and green in the other, you might not even delay anyone.

Of course, a variety of things might hold you up for several seconds after your light turns red, increasing the likelihood of a citation for blocking traffic, or for running a red light, or both. And if you misjudge the intentions of that last oncoming car, you could get into a head-on crash.

The in basket: Cathy Briggs, one of my classmates at the AARP senior driving safety course I took in

April, said she has seen a dangerous situation on Bucklin Hill Road in Silverdale where Hop Jacks restaurant and Taco Time recently opened.

The parking lot for Hop Jacks fills up and people have been parking on the other side of Bucklin Hill Road and scurrying across it to the new restaurant – some with little kids, she said. One other person in the class said he’d seen it too. There is no crosswalk there. Both thought it has car-pedestrian accident written all over it.

I asked Kitsap County Public Works and Community Development if they see it as a problem.

The out basket: A Community Development employee said the Sandpiper restaurant previously on that site had 59 parking spaces and the county code calls for only 53. “There are 65 off-street parking spaces on the commercial site (now), exceeding the minimum requirements,” the person said.

“I assume that the demand for parking will relax once the novelty of the new restaurant wears off,” the person continued. “The parking standards for restaurants are an estimate for parking demand and have been tested over time.  Sometimes the standard requires too much parking while there is not enough for popular establishments.”

Putting a crosswalk there might make the situation worse, as it conveys a sense of protection that may not really exist. County public works officials advocate using one or the two closest existing crosswalks, both at a traffic signal, which actually does provide protection, though I’ll be surprised if many people will be willing to walk that far.

“There are safer places to cross near there,” said Transportation Engineer Jeff Shea. “Pedestrians should use the marked crosswalks at Silverdale Way/Bucklin Hill or at the signal on Bucklin Hill Road at the entrance to the shopping center.”

The in basket: My wife, The Judybaker, and I took part in one of the many April senior driving safety classes sponsored by AARP and administered by Glen Adrig of Bremerton.

Glen extended a personal invitation because I write this column, and I figured that my wife and I, in our mid-60s, could benefit. It cost us $12 each, being AARP members. It’s $14 for a non-member.

The course is offered every month at eight or ninelocations between Bainbridge Island and Shelton. They are taught by a variety of local people and Glen oversees the entire district. Call Glen at 360-377-2448 to find one near you.

The out basket: Among the things I learned is that the instruction we all got as youngsters to hold the steering wheel at the 10 o’clock and 2 o’clock positions has been made obsolete by air bags.

If your hands are that high on the wheel when you are in a collision and your air bags deploy, they can smack you in the face, adding to your injuries. The 3 and 9 positions are safer, we were told.

I’ve since been noticing how I hold the wheel, and am alarmed at how often my right hand is at 12 o’clock, the top of the wheel. My nose would be a sitting duck for a self-inflicted punch if I’m ever in a bad crash.

I am constantly reminding myself to bring them down. I’m making progress but I have a ways to go.

Glen also instructed us in an alternative way to position our side mirrors to reduce their blind spots. I’ve heard of it for years, but never tried it. You tip the mirrors farther away from your car until you no longer can see see the side of it while sitting straight in the driver’s seat.

Glen modified the instruction in the AARP manual so that you can see the sides of your car by leaning a little one way or the other. The manual made the adjustment more extreme.

I’ve done it and am getting used to not being able to confirm what I see in my inside rearview mirror in the outside mirrors.

He also told us to try hitting our brakes hard at about 30 miles per hour in a deserted parking lot to acquaint ourselves with the unusual noises and pulsing of the brake pedal in a car with anti-lock brakes. I haven’t done that, as I often disregard the instruction not to pump anti-lock brakes.

Except in an emergency hard stop, in which case I doubt noises and pulsating would have any effect on how I press the brake pedal,  I regard flashing my brake lights when slowing to be a vital warning to the driver behind me that solid brake lights might not provide.

That’s just a taste of what the eilght-hour, two-day course covered and we got to take the 121-page course booklet home with us.

The in basket: The Road Warrior column gets lots of requests to see the flashing yellow left-turn signals that Kitsap County has deployed in South Kitsap and Silverdale put to use at other intersections, including those in Bremerton. So far, Bremerton has declined to go to the expense.

But a major traffic headache coming to Bremerton this spring and summer will have as a happy by-product the introduction of the flashing yellows turn lights at four intersections where there are left turn pockets on Sixth Street between Wycoff and Warren avenues.

The city is having to close one of its busiest thoroughfares – 11th Street – between Montgomery and Naval avenues for the months of June and July, to replace a failing sewer line. Sixth Street will be the designated detour and the flashing yellows will provide the most green light time for the increased traffic on Sixth.

Another major street, Naval Avenue, will be closed to through-traffic between 11th and 13th streets for a period  to be determined. That also will add to the load on Sixth Street.

The flashing yellows will remain in place after the sewer work is done, said Gunnar Fridriksson of the city street engineers. Details about the sewer project can be found online at www.ci.bremerton.wa.us/articles.php?id=1864.

As for the yellow flashing signals,  “City crews will begin installation of the heads and hardware on the 15th of May, with activation by the end of the month,” Gunnar said .

The sewer project not only provides the need for the new style turn signal, it also is the source of the money to pay for them, he said.

For those who haven’t encountered the flashing yellow lefts, they mean that left turns are authorized but those turning must yield to oncoming traffic. They mean the same thing as the signs you’ll see at some Bremerton intersections that depict a green ball signal and say left turners must yield when the light is green.

They DO NOT mean left turners have the right of way. Only a green arrow means that.

The in basket: A few readers have suggested in the past that the state prohibit a maneuver one can see any weekday at the Loxie Eagans interchange on Highway 3 in Bremerton. Drivers in a hurry exit on that interchange’s off-ramp, scoot across Loxie Eagans Boulevard and re-enter traffic via the on-ramp, presumably skipping ahead of some of those backed up during rush hour who stayed in line.

Another reader said last year he’d seen that very prohibition at an interchange on another freeway on the other side of the Sound.

The state has declined to do it in the past. But not any more.

The out basket: Thursday, I learned from State Trooper Russ Winger of the Bremerton detachment that the state changed its mind late last year and put up signs saying only left and right turns are permitted at the head of that off-ramp. It also scrubbed off an arrow on the pavement that indicated that a straight-ahead movement could be made there.

It came as a surprise to me, as it’s been a long time since I’ve used that off-ramp. I asked Steve Bennett, operations engineer for state highways here, what changed their minds and he said, “We imposed the restriction after conversations with troopers in the area who thought it would help traffic flow and be something they could enforce.”

Russ Winger said, “This appears to be a regular maneuver for some commuters. I personally stopped a vehicle for the action just after the new signage went into effect. The driver did not deny doing it to cheat ahead in the backup.  In fact, he said ‘So you guys are taking away our little secret .’ Russ gave him a warning.

“We have been getting some complaints about motorists ignoring the road signage and lane restriction,” he said Thursday, and one of the detachment sergeants told him an emphasis patrol to underscore the change would be a good idea.

“The intent of the emphasis in the area will be to highlight the problem and attempt to gain better compliance,” Russ said. “Our troopers will likely be issuing citations rather than warning drivers. We believe sufficient warning time has elapsed since the signage was changed.” The date of the emphasis hasn’t been set.

“Loxie Eagans is a very busy and congested roadway during late afternoon rush hour,” he said. “Visibility is limited due to vehicles making right and left turns onto Loxie Eagans, as well as heavy east- and west-bound traffic. This makes crossing there both illegal and dangerous for all motorists.”

It also creates driver animosity among those who stay on the freeway and believe those making the maneuver are taking unfair advantage, he said.

The in basket: Greg Salo of Silverdale writes to say, “With the 2012 introduction of the new WSU crimson college license plate design, I am curious about the number of special plates on the roads.

“There are 40 special plates available (seven college plates, 13 military plates, seven organizational plates, seven parks and rec plates, and six hobby plates.)

“Is there an online site where the state details the amount of money each organization earns annually through the $28 donation that is associated with each plate?  Or alternatively an online site that lists (how many there are) of  of each plate registered annually?

Greg helpfully included a Web addresses he’d found listing the various specialty plates and what they cost to acquire. It’s

http://www.dol.wa.gov/vehicleregistration/specialdesign.html.

The out basket: Brad Benfield , spokesman for the Department of Licensing, says, “The total number of specialty plate types offered can vary depending on how you define them. When we create reports, we have 31 that typically are reported on.

“We don’t typically include rideshare, disabled parking, collector vehicle, horseless carriage, restored, ham radio, medal of honor, gold star parent, former POW, or disabled American veteran (plates). These don’t generally get included because of one or more of the following reasons: They aren’t used for fundraising, they aren’t fundamentally different from standard plates, there are very few of them actually issued and/or they are available to a very small population of vehicle owners.”

He included a spreadsheet that showed how many of each kind of plate existed as of 2011.

Vanity plates were far and away the most numerous, with 88,170 of them. Others, in descending order of abundance, are Washington State University (14,309), Law Enforcement Memorial (9,866),  University of Washington (7,047), Wild on Washington (5,580), Professional Firefighters and Paramedics (4,521), U.S. Army (4,448), Endangered Wildlife (4,161), Washington National Park Fund (4,143), Washington Wildlife – Elk (4,098), Washington Lighthouse (3,954), Share the Road (3,904), Washington State Parks and Recreation (3,222), Stadium (2,923), U.S. Navy (2,827), Marines (2,758), U.S. Air Force (2,,417), We Love Our Pets (2.227), Washington Wildlife – Bear (2,157) Keep Kids Safe (1,605), Ski and Ride Washington (1,520), Gonzaga University Alums (1,390), Helping Kids Speak (1,445), Washington Wildlife -Deer (1,378), Square Dancing (858), Eastern Washington University (855), Western Washington University (832),  Coast Guard (721), Central Washington University (636), National Guard (475) and The Evergreen State College (161).

Revenue from the sales, for those agencies required to report it, is $338,293 for the various military plates combined, $257,801 for the Law Enforcement Memorial, $498,886 for the combined Washington Wildlife plates, $140,285 for Wild on Washington, and $124,063 for Professional Firefighters and Paramedics. Endangered Wildlife, Washington National Parks Fund, Washington’s Lighthouse and Share the Road are grouped at between $106,000 and $109,000 each, followed by Washington State Parks at $76,416, We Love Our Pets at $59,021, Keep Kids Safe at $44,856, Helping Kids Speak at $39,734, Gonzaga U at 38,187 and Ski and Ride Washington at $38,107.

That information is not available online.