Tag Archives: Harkins

Traffic changes at end of Manette bridge still not likely

The in basket: Ralph Gribben of East Bremerton says he’d like to see the stop signs removed at a couple of places at the east end of the new Manette Bridge, on Harkins at Pitt and on Pitt at East 11th, and a yield sign at Pitt and East 11th. It would smooth the flow of traffic going to and from the bridge, he felt.

He’s not the only one to suggest that, but in the past, city officials have said they want to see how traffic flows evolve with the opening of the new bridge before making any changes.

The out basket: They still are reluctant to make the changes suggested. Gunnar Fridriksson of the city street engineers said, “We do not wish to make changes without

looking towards an overall traffic circulation study for Manette.

“Forthe citizens complaining about the stop signs, we have others that

appreciate them being there to slow vehicles down.  A common complaint

prior to the new traffic configuration was speeding on East. 11th from

motorists coming off of the old bridge.

“A line item is included in the

city budget for the study, but funding has not yet been identified,” he said.

Short block of Pitt may impede new Manette bridge’s traffic

The in basket: Ralph Gribbin and Gary Blankenship are hoping the new traffic pattern in Manette with the opening of its new bridge will be smoothed with some changes on the short block of Pitt Avenue between Harkins and East 11th Street.

“What are the city’s plans for the streets leading to the bridge?” Gary asked. “At the very least, shouldn’t parking along (that part of Pitt) be stopped? Better, shouldn’t it be widened?”

Ralph would go further. “Ever since the old bridge was closed, Manette traffic has had to go straight through on Harkins to Pitt, stop, turn right on Pitt for one short block and stop at 11th Street before turning left onto it,” he wrote.

“Leaving those two stop signs where they are stops the smooth flow of traffic from the bridge to 11th and up to Perry and Trenton avenues.

“Removing those two stop signs, placing a Yield sign on westbound 11th just before Pitt, and a stop sign on eastbound 11th just before Pitt  would make this the thoroughfare that should exist in that area.

“The same basic layout has existed at Trenton Avenue and 11th for years without any problem,” he said.

The out basket: I drove around there and it does have all the earmarks of a bottleneck, with little room for anything very large to make the turn if there is oncoming traffic.

The city of Bremerton is taking a wait-and-see approach to this, says Gunnar Fridriksson of the city engineers office, to see what drivers do naturally.

“The city had numerous conversations with (the state) about the after-configuration of the streets in Manette,” he said. “… What was decided was to wait a bit after the new bridge was open to see how traffic reacted with the new configuration. Often it just takes a couple of weeks for issues to iron themselves out and drivers to adjust to the new situation, and we did not want to spend unnecessary effort for signage and the like.”

There will be some changes made in that area, probably next year, but they’re not intended to help the flow to and from the bridge.

“The project is a Low Impact Development street project,” Gunnar said, “similar to what occurred on Pacific Avenue with pervious paving, rain gardens, etc…

“We will be going from the west end of (East) 11th Street, east as far as the money will allow us. We originally were trying to make it to Perry Avenue, but with the funding received, are trying to at least make it to Scott, but it may just be to Pitt.

“It should be a good complement to the redone Whitey Domstad viewscape,” he said.

 

 

 

Stop signs a problem for revised Manette traffic flow, says reader

The in basket: Robin Henderson, a Manette resident, suggests some modifications to traffic flow in Manette to allow traffic to get through faster once the new Manette Bridge is finished and a roundabout is built on that end in place of the existing intersection.

“A lot of traffic across the bridge heads east up 11th to either Trenton or Perry,” he said. “Many folks headed to Brownsville or even Keyport use this route to avoid traffic.

With Shore Drive closed, “folks will  have to go up Harkins to Pitt then down Pitt to 11th with two stop signs to negotiate.  I suggested removing those two stop signs so that traffic can continue to flow uninterrupted to Trenton,” he said.

Shore Drive, which already is blocked, will remain closed to traffic coming off bridge because it is too steep to be served by the roundabout, eliminating the route taken previously by most traffic wanting to head out East 11th.

The existing stop signs would be repositioned to stop traffic on southbound Pitt and eastbound East 11th under his plan.

“I have already shared my ideas with (City Councilman) Adam Brockus, and I sent a link to this article to Jeff Cook, the states project engineer.  I was just wondering if you had any thoughts on the issue?  Do you ever drive through Manette?””

The out basket: I used to take this route weekly to reach a pickleball game in Illahee, until I decided it was just as fast and involved a lot less stopping and starting to go up around Dyes Inlet via Silverdale and double back.

Jeff Cook tells me he met Sept. 29 with Bremerton street officials and said they agreed to give Robin’s idea consideration. Having traffic proceeding through 90-degree turns without stopping raises some safety issues, and that could lead to thoughts of widening the turn radii, which might lead to right of way issues.

It’s one of two things bridge planners are being urged to change from current plans, he said. The other involves the designated detour through Manette to link East 11th and and Wheaton Way during next year’s four month closure of the existing bridge to complete the new one and the roundabout.

They are weighing objections to the designated detour, via Pitt and 14th Street, which some residents oppose, against an alternative, using Perry Avenue and 18th Street, which some Manette businesses fear will cost them most of their customers, he said.

In each case, “we want the most amount of people to be happy with what we do,” Jeff said.