The in basket: Margaret Gibbard asks, “How long have the yellow crossing lights been at Ridgetop and Levin Road in Silverdale for the Clear Creek Trail walkers?  I know they were turned off during the Bucklin bridge project when there was a light at that intersection.  Was the pedestrian activated yellow flasher there before the bridge project?

The out basket: Yes, it was. Daren Miller, Kitsap County’s signal supervisor says, “The rapid flash beacons were installed in 2011.  In 2015 they were pulled because a temporary traffic signal went in for the Bucklin Hill bridge project.

“On Friday, July 22, Bucklin Hill was opened back up and on Monday, July 25, the temporary traffic signal at Levin and Ridgetop was removed by the contractor and the rapid flash beacons were reinstalled at the location by the county,” he said.

The in basket: Lillis King writes, “Now that there is a light at Levin Road (in Silverdale), would you remind your readers that the road’s name is pronounced — le VEEN?

“You may know the history of the Swedish immigrant who settled in the Clear Creek Valley and whose house still stands on the Gerald Peterson property<” she said. “Parts of the old Levin (le VEEN) Road can still be traced from Silverdale to almost Poulsbo because it was the main road from Silverdale to Poulsbo, according to Gerry Pederson, once my neighbor.

“You can find more about John Levin on page 468 in the “KItsap County, a History,” published by the Kitsap Historical Society,” she said.

“It drives me crazy to hear people call the road — LEH vin. I hope you can reach many people to know who this pioneer was and how he pronounced his Swedish name.”

The out basket: I’m among the offenders who have called in LEHvin Road and Lillis’ e-mail is the first I’d heard that I was wrong.

But it’s not the first assertion I’ve heard that the common pronunciation of a road in Silverdale is wrong.

Back in the days when Harlan Beery was a sportswriter for this paper, he told me that the road that runs between Harrison Hospital’s Silverdale campus and the complex where Costco sits is not MY-REE road. It, too, is named for a Silverdale pioneer and the name is pronounced MIRE, he said.

I’ve been saying Mire ever since. I don’t know why My-REE has become the pronunciation of choice for so many. The defunct Myhre’s restaurant in Port Orchard, which was a fixture there for decades until its second fire and closure, may have something to do with it, but I’m guessing there’s some other reason.

The in basket: Carole Patterson and Ann Emel think the county chose the wrong place for the temporary stop light in Silverdale during the Bucklin Hill Road closure.

“Kitsap County has installed new stop lights at the wrong intersection of Levin and Ridgetop,” Carole said. “The traffic backup is at Blaine and Ridgetop. At 6 p.m. today there were nine cars waiting on Blaine to turn right onto Ridgetop. Is their a logical explanation?”

Ann wrote, “I remember when I first read in the Kitsap Sun that a traffic light was going to be

installed at Levin and Ridgetop, my first thought was it just couldn’t be. Levin would become a dead-end road and Blaine, which  runs behind Safeway, would remain a  through street linking Bucklin and Ridgetop.

“I still don’t see the why of the light at Levin when I see very, very few cars waiting there to enter onto Ridgetop and most often six to eight cars lined up on Blaine to do the same thing.

“Since the light at Levin is now 30 days past predicted install, why couldn’t that idea be scrapped and a new light put in at Blaine where it would serve more cars?

The out basket: Tina Nelson, senior program manager for Kitsap County Public Works, says, “The traffic study that was completed for the Bucklin Hill bridge project did not indicate that a signal at Levin and Ridgetop would be beneficial during the closure. The close proximity to the signal at Mickelberry would make timing coordination difficult, if even possible.

(But) at public meetings the concern was raised and we re-visited the situation. There are several businesses off of Levin and getting in and out of Levin could become a challenge. Therefore we decided on the temporary signal. We did review putting one at Blaine, but that is not access to as many businesses, and having one at each would not work, so there was the decision to add it at Levin.

“Signal equipment has very long lead time and delivery timing is not predictable. (That’s) not unique to us, (it’s the) same across the state and the country.  You may recall the delay in getting the signal running at Ridgetop and SR 303.

“We knew that it was unreasonable to require that the signal be operational by July 1, but we needed to close the road at that time to move the project forward, working with fish windows etc.

“We required that the signal be operational by Aug. 14 in the contract.  Initially we thought that we would have it operational by mid-July, but delivery was delayed, and now it is finally up and running.”