The in basket: Mary Barton e-mailed to say, “I’m wondering if you can tell me why Greaves Road in Silverdale was created. “I was driving on Old Frontier from Trigger Avenue” she said, “and encountered this new (to me) intersection (Old Frontier and Greaves). I took Greaves road by mistake probably because I was confused by the change.
“Greaves road is nice, wide and empty. Why did we spend money on a road that isn’t used? What if anything is the county planning for this new road, that if you take a left at
Highway 303 takes us to the worst intersections in the county?”
The out basket: The road (it’s name is actually Greaves Way) is intended to provide a more direct route between west Silverdale/rural Central Kitsap and that “worst” intersection, which gets one onto the Highway 3 and Highway 303 freeways, and to link Clear Creek and Old Frontier roads more directly, while providing access to an area designated by county planners as a major commercial area of the future.
A statement from the county says, “Discussion on design of this roadway was originally initiated in the 1990s, with funding acquired over the years from local and federal sources. (It) was added to the County’s Transportation Improvement Plan in 2000 to initiate design and engineering. “In 2006, the Kitsap County Comprehensive Plan expanded the Silverdale Urban Growth Area and added 450 acres of land for new opportunities for commercial, office and industrial uses. The new road was, and still is (the economy turned and the developments got put on hold), intended to provide a development catalyst to these lands by providing access to a wide-range of new employment and service opportunities for Kitsap County residents.
(It) was also offered as an alternate route into, and around, Silverdale, reducing congestions on Anderson Hill Road and Bucklin Hill Road,” the statement said.
I think somebody with pull owns land out there and got the deluxe road put in, but now their construction plans are on hold. Part of the tragedy of the new freeway exchange in Silverdale is that it appears that making a solid connection to Greaves was one of the main design considerations. Also, the bus depot out there is clearly an attempt to use some of the infrastructure for something, although I don’t think the pedestrians walking past the freeway offramp appreciate the location much.