Road Warrior

The in basket: John Veatch of Bremerton writes, “Whoever is behind (Kitsap)  County’s installation of blinking left turn lights in Silverdale needs to be congratulated for an intelligent idea and awesome traffic management.  

“Is there any chance that the same improvements will be done by the City of Bremerton along Wheaton Way at the Riddell Road, Sylvan Way, and Sheridan Road intersections?” he asked.

“When you are southbound on Wheaton Way and in the left turn lane for Sylvan Way, there is almost always a long gap in the northbound traffic….  There is a long period there in which southbound left turners could make a left turn if there was the system similar to that in Silverdale, but right now everybody has to just sit and waste the opportunity.”

Wally McKendry makes the same request at the John Carlson and McWilliams intersections farther north on Highway 303.

And Karen Johnson would like more said about what the yellow flashers mean. Too often, she says, a driver has taken it to mean he or she has the right of way, when they really mean the driver can turn but must yield to oncoming traffic. 

“I now find myself slowing down and creeping into an intersection when I know another driver has a flashing yellow turn light because I am not confident they are going to give me the right of way,” she said. 

The out basket: I often get kudos for the county’s new flashing yellows, now that drivers are getting used to them. They eliminate a lot of waiting to make a left turn, saving gas and reducing pollution as a byproduct. There are many of them in South Kitsap too.

They do mean the driver must yield to oncoming traffic and pedestrians but can turn when it’s safe to do so.

But I won’t hold my breath waiting for them to show up other than on signals operated by Kitsap County.  

Don Anders of  the Olympic Region signal shop that maintains most of the signals on state highways here, says their policy is that once an intersection has only protected lefts (turns only on a green arrow) they won’t go to a lesser level of control without some significant improvements in that intersection. Lesser control means more accidents, he said.

The Highway 303 lights Wally asks about are state-owned but those at at Riddell, Sylvan and Sheridan are the property of the city of Bremerton. The city, because it has a population of more than 25,000, could adopt the flashing yellows on any signal within the city , Don said. But Larry Matel of the city street engineers says yellow flashing turn lights aren’t high on their priority list. His staff has agreed to check out the county’s flashing yellow lefts informally when they are in Silverdale, he said. 

Port Orchard Public Works Director Mark Dorsey and Poulsbo Public Works Director Andrzej Kasiniak both say they’d love to introduce the flashing yellow lefts at signals they control, but don’t have the money.

Bremerton’s signal shop maintains Poulsbo’s non-state lights on a contract, and estimates that it would take about $5,000 per signal to add flashing yellow left turns, Andrzej says.

If they find the money, he would expect the Viking Way-Finn Hill and Lindvig Way-Bond Road signals to be first to get them, he said.

Mark says Port Orchard will have only three signals under its exclusive control after roundabouts replace the two westernmost signals on Tremont Avenue in the next few years. Right now, though, “our 2010 budget is non-existent,” he said.

Bob Thuring, Mason County’s engineer, says the county doesn’t own any traffic signals. All the signals in North Mason are on state highways.

As for further spread of the yellow flashing lefts in Kitsap County, its traffic engineer Jeff Shea says, “The flashing yellow turn arrow is very popular with motorists. We consider using this signal where we can, and as funds permit. 

“Safety is a prime consideration when considering where to incorporate this technology. Cost limits the number of intersections where we can install the flashing yellow arrow. Special equipment is required for the signal, both in the cabinet and on the signal face. 

“We were able to upgrade the intersections in Silverdale by using development mitigation money. As we find funding sources, we will continue to evaluate intersections where we can add this popular signal.”

Tags: flashing yellow, left turn, signal

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 10th, 2010 at 2:27 pm by travis baker and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.