The in basket: Michael Drouin writes, “As we were sitting at the intersection of Sylvan and Wheaton Way, watching the chaos emerging from the Kitsap Bank parking lot, we couldn’t help but wonder whatever became of the grand plan to move the Kitsap Transit transfer station to the defunct lumber yard at Hollis and Wheaton Way.”
The out basket: John Clauson, executive director of Kitsap Transit, says, “We still have the need to develop a better transfer center, and the old Parker Lumber site is more than likely the location.
“Having said that, we are exploring the possibility of doing a joint development project that could include more than just a transfer center. Once we have determined these other potential uses, we will proceed with searching for partners.”
Transit has acquired the old Parker Lumber site, just north of the existing transfer station at Wheaton Mall, he said. “We are not in a big hurry to move out of the Wheaton Mall but our concern is that we could be asked to vacate with little notice, like what happen to us at the Kitsap Mall, and we would not have a place to move to.
“Although (the joint development project) could include retail we are more thinking like some type of living complex that would fit well with a transit center. It could include a joint parking area that could support our Park & Ride needs while responding to others’ parking needs.
“We are limited to just how far we could move before we would need to make major adjustments to our schedules for the east side service. Moving to the Parker Lumber site would require us to make some changes to the service.”
The traffic signal at the Hollis Street intersection would be upgraded from the existing three-way signal to a full four-way signal to provide the buses a safe way in and out of the Parker site if that is finally chosen, he said.
So in the mean time what can the city do to make the Wheaton/sylvan intersection safer and less chaotic? Spend $200,000 so people can’t hack the opticom with their Tv remotes and change red lights green? Allow a foreign company to put up a automated profit camera? I guess they already did those two things so how about doing a traffic study, figuring out the 85th percentile speed and adjusting the speed limit and traffic signal timing accordingly? If Chal wanted to make that intersection more user friendly wouldn’t he want to know the key component to the proper formula for adjusting the traffic signals? instead he relies on an outdated formula and no changes to signal timing have been made in decades (as far as they will tell me)
Ad in the chaos of bus drivers cutting green lights short with their remote control buttons and you have a recipe for a chaotic intersection. Think about it, If a bus driver is turning his red light green then he is shortening your green light and with a missed timed yellow you are in the intersection on red. That scenario equals profit for the city and their business partner who owns the red light cams. $$$$ Ad in the fact that the yellow light times are set at the lowest legal limit at 3.5 seconds (on paper, the actual time the yellow light is fully lit is less then 3.5 seconds,) which creates a situation a driver can’t safely stop but can’t legally continue. Again it’s just money for the city and Redflex Inc..$$$$
So if the city was concerned about safety, wouldn’t they want to properly adjust the traffic signal timing, raise or lower the speed limit, and set up some policy for busses using opticon to switch the lights from red to green? Sure their solar powered trash bin bus station is a ways down the road but what about making some simple changes in the mean time? How about firing your public servants who are more concerned with profit over safety? How about demanding your City Engineer does his job? Instead of allowing Bremerton/Redflex Incorporated to profit off of the mess and chaos that is the result of their neglect?
Bremerton has to be on the leaderboard for corrupt cities. They mismanage tax revenue and spend it all in a tiny area down town to appease politicians in their back yard while neglecting the rest of the city. They’ve chased out tons of businesses with their unreasonable tax rates and barely any goes back to the area it came from… only in the tiny little downtown area by the ferry. They then have the audacity to try to annex even more from the county so they can leech even more money off the outerlaying areas to mismanage. Just drive down Warren ave. and you’ll see entire shopping centers vacant. Nobody wants to do business in a corrupt town.