Road Warrior

The in basket: A week or so ago I asked if any readers knew the rationale behind a state law requiring bicyclists to ride in the same direction as cars, when they seemed to benefit as much as pedestrians from being able to see oncoming traffic in the lane next to them.
Sunny Evsich was surprised to learn of the rule and said, “when I was growing up in Bremerton it was drilled into us to ride FACING traffic so we could see what’s coming at us. The police, including Art Morken, used to come to our grade school every year and lecture us on that very fact.
The out basket: Three readers say the existing law is safer and provided reasons.

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The in basket: Colleen Taylor e-mails to say that as one drives north on Highway 303 near Silverdale with intentions to got north on Highway 3, the destination signs list SubBase Bangor as the only place to which it leads. It also says EXIT ONLY, as if it were the only location/destination on the highway for that direction. 
“Nothing is listed for Poulsbo, the Kingston ferry, or the later exit for Bainbridge. Anyone not familiar with the area would be clueless as to how to reach those destinations, given the lack of signage. 

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The in basket: About a year ago, Chuck McGuire of Sedgwick Road in South Kitsap asked what could be done about cars coming south on North Banner Road and blowing through the stop sign on Sedgwick.
In December, he asked again in a letter to the editor, with Larissa Lykins and Bob and Roxy Scott adding their voices to the plea.
“In the past seven years, 13 vehicles driving south on Banner ran the stop sign
at Sedgwick, crossed Sedgwick through oncoming traffic, and either
crashed into a deep swale or through a chain link fence,” their joint letter said.

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The in basket: Philip Menees says, “If you drive along Beach Drive out of Port Orchard on both sides of Waterman dock, there have been erected reflectors and placement of large boulders at the edge of the road. To me this seems to be a dangerous practice, even though it is, I’m sure, to deter parking in front of people’s homes.
“Is the edge of the pavement the edge of the right of way, and does one have the right to park on the right of way outside the fog line? How can one determine the edge of the right of way and one’s private property?”

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The in basket: Deborah Moran wonders “why there is a crosswalk, with the
walk/don’t walk lights on only three of the sides at the intersection of Highway
305 and Hostmark in Poulsbo.

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The in basket: Ernest Behrle e-mails to say, “I’ve been thinking for a long time that it would help a lot of people living in the Seabeck areas if Newberry Hill Road were extended through to Seabeck. According to my maps, if the road were extended
straight west (and it doesn’t have to be perfectly straight) it would come
out just south of the Seabeck elementary school, opposite the Miami Beach
Road. That would put access to the road right in the middle of the Seabeck
area and benefit a lot of people living in that area providing a straight
shot from the Seabeck area to Highway 3.

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Right-of-way questions from Poulsbo have come in from Dick Galleher and Monica Berninghaus.

Galleher says, “Let’s go down to the three-street intersection of Front Street, Lindvig Way and Bond Road. Coming along on any of these and the light is red. There is no traffic. Can I make a right turn, as is legal in a normal intersection? There is no sign prohibiting such.”

Berninghaus wonders about Hamilton Court and First Avenue on the fringe of Poulsbo Place, where the mainline makes a 90-degree turn. Hamilton takes you into a football field.

“A lady coming along First Avenue (west) made a left turn into the ball fields and almost T-boned my car as I was traveling north on Hamilton into the ball fields,” Berninghaus said. “Apparently no one has a stop sign at either point once Hamilton and First Avenue intersect.

“There IS a stop sign coming the other way on Hamilton FROM the ball field south onto Hamilton.

“Is a stop sign missing from either of the other corners?”

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The in basket: Some of us pickleball players in the bi-weekly games at the Sheridan Park rec center in Bremerton got into a discussion of hand signals after one of them, Bob Merhaut, asked it there is any law against having one’s arm hanging out of the car. The three of us couldn’t agree on what one of the hand signals means, the one where one hangs one’s hand straight down. Bob and I thought it means “I’m stopping,” but Dick Belmont said it means you’re slowing down.

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The in basket: Ginny Renoudet says “My husband and I walk daily, facing traffic on a road with no sidewalks.  We are frequently forced into the road by walkers facing the same direction as traffic.  As a youngster we were taught to walk facing traffic and ride bikes with traffic.  Have things changed?
The out basket: No, walking toward traffic still a good idea and I was surprised to find that state law even requires it.

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The in basket: Donna Ascalon of Bremerton says “The intersection of Myhre/Tracyton Beach Road and Bucklin Hill Road is a perfect example where a left turn yield on green would be very effective, particularly on the east/west directions on Bucklin Hill Road. I have sat there numerous times waiting to turn left onto Myhre Road and sat and sat and sat while there was absolutely no traffic in sight coming down Bucklin Hill Road toward the intersection.
“In view of higher gas prices, it would be reasonable to have the ability to make those left turns when it was clear and safe from oncoming traffic.

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