Road Warrior

The in basket: Nelson Lanchester , Charles Dick and John Bowman ask if the state still plans to increase the speed limit coming out of Gorst southbound.

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The in basket: John Blackwell writes about the intersection in front of CK High where Anderson Hill and Bucklin Hill roads meet.
” I use this intersection on average about 10-20 times per day,” he said.
“Each day I come to this intersection, I narrowly miss
having a head-on collision because of the cars coming down from
Anderson Hill turning left onto Bucklin Hill. The cars turning left
there repeatedly cut the corner and narrowly miss the
cars going up the hill towards Anderson Hill.
“There is going to be a wreck there soon if this doesn’t get resolved.

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The in basket: Steve Mackey says, “Recently the speed limit was
adjusted from 55 mph to 45 and 50 mph along Hansville (Road).
Just north of the Point No Point Casino and south of Ecology Lane (the road
to the transfer station) the northbound speed changes from 45 to 50
mph.
“I went into the Public Works office and suggested that they move the
signs to just north of Ecology Lane,” Steve said. But his suggestion was not accepted.
“I think the main reason for lowering the speed limits in the first place was for safety concerns,” he concluded. “Therefore, it would make sense to consider the safety of those performing the civic duty of recycling and not just those who were
going to gamble and drink at the … casino.”

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The in basket: Forrest Butler of Kingston thinks I should revisit the reason that both the southbound and northbound lanes of Highway 3 just north of Luoto Road jog slightly sideways.
“Were the engineers responsible
for each section too stubborn to admit one or the other was
off in their calculations?” he asked, before I sent him the real reason.

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The in basket: Jay Hendrick writes, “With all the news about traffic lights on the Bucklin Hill Road, there has been no mention about the objects that look like cameras on those lights. If those are traffic cameras, are they in
operation? If they are there for red light runners, why not place
some at the most flagrant location of red light runners that being
Silverdale Way and Bucklin Hill?

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The in basket: Lisa Havens of Poulsbo told me a while back that her motorcycling husband had devised a means of paying his Tacoma Narrows Bridge toll without having to have one of the special motorcycle transponders that some riders don’t like.
He paid $30 to have a piece of auto glass cut to the size of the smaller automobile transponder and stuck one to it. He carries it in his jacket and it seemed to be working, she said.
She also wondered whether a motorcycle with a transponder mounted that is being towed on a trailer behind a car with its own transponder would be regarded as separate vehicles by the electronic toll collection readers and get double-billed.

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The in basket: Leroy McVay of Poulsbo thinks ferry users can learn from a mistake his family made in July and what they have done about it.
“We tossed out what we thought was a used up passenger Wave2Go pass,” he said. “Instead, it was a half-used car & driver pass.   
“A toll both attendant told us if we could find that piece of paper they give you when you buy the pass, they can track the bar code and take action.  Needless to say, I tossed it as just another scrap of paper. 

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The in basket: Patty Hill and Russ Freeman wonder about the timing of traffic signals on Highway 305 at Bond Road and Hostmark Street. 
Patty said, “If you plan to turn left from Highway 305 onto Bond during rush hour, you can wait for a long time once getting into the turn lane until you actually get through the light. It was nine minutes when I timed myself the other day from getting into the lane until I got through – and there were no delays, cars broken down, etc. 
“What are the chances of someone trying to alleviate this – maybe just adding another 30 seconds to the left turn signal at rush hour time only would help a bit and it’s not a long time frame to have the other locations wait – or are we beating a dead horse?”
Russ says it doesn’t appear that the widening of 305 that is under way will correct signal timing he thinks hinders smooth traffic flow in the area.

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The in basket: Keith W. Oien writes, “I have finally reached my limit regarding drivers driving on the shoulder of the road to bypass cars stopped at red lights, to make right hand turns.
“Every day, I see cars doing this at the Fairgrounds Road/Central Valley Road intersection, and at the Waaga Way southbound exit to northbound Central Valley Road,” he said.
“I am 99.9 percent sure it is illegal to drive on the shoulder of the road to pass traffic to make right hand turns, and it creates a very hazardous situation for pedestrians waiting at the intersection.

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The in basket: Jenny Burke says the two northbound lanes of Silverdale Way at Bucklin Hill Road don’t line up with those across the intersection. At least three times while she was in the inside lane on dark rainy nights, she said, she has found drivers from the outside lane trying to occupy her lane while crossing.
She asked if any kind of signage or paint would help avoid this.

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