The in basket: Kareen Stockton, who runs the Little Clam Bay Bed
& Breakfast near Manchester in South Kitsap, says she has a beef
with the state’s destination signs coming out of
Bremerton.
“I often have guests that come over to the peninsula on the
Bremerton ferry,” she said. “A common complaint I hear from my
guests is, ‘Why are there no signs from the Bremerton ferry
directing people to Port Orchard?’ Even at the turn going
south at Callow the sign directs drivers to Shelton, but does
not include Port Orchard.
“I find this puzzling,” Kareen said, “especially since Port
Orchard is the county seat. Any chance of adding Port Orchard
to the ‘Shelton sign’? I am sure my guests are not the
only ones who would benefit from this change.”
When I told her Little Clam Bay is closer to Manchester than
Port Orchard, she added that as a complaint. There are no signs
until well past the first two exits to Port Orchard as one
approaches Sedgwick Road on Highway 16 to guide a person coming
from Bremerton to Manchester, she said.
The out basket: We encountered this concern earlier this year,
when Traffic Operations Engineer Steve Bennett of the state highway
department explained why destination signs entering Highway 3 in
Silverdale mention Shelton and not Tacoma. Tacoma isn’t on Highway
3 and Shelton is, he said.
As for Kareen’s complaint, Steve said, “We have no plans on
changing the signing. Drivers have an obligation to know
basically where they are going before they leave, as signing cannot
be provided for every possible destination.
“From the Bremerton ferry, possible destinations include
Poulsbo, Bainbridge Island, Gorst, Port Orchard, Belfair and
further away, Port Townsend and Sequim. You can imagine the
litany of signs that would be needed if all these destinations were
signed.
“Shelton was chosen for the signs on (the highway from the
Bremerton ferry) to give drivers a general idea how to get out of
the city to head south. After leaving Bremerton on Highway 3,
drivers then encounter signs showing the way to Port Orchard,
Tacoma, Belfair and Shelton. It seems to work well as we do not
hear from folks saying they can’t find these cities after getting
off the ferry.”
He didn’t say so, but federal standards limit the amount of
information on signs at any given location to minimize the time
drivers are looking away from traffic to read them.
As for Manchester, Steve says, “On major freeways like (Highway)
16, we do not sign for small unincorporated towns like Manchester,
as the available sign space is taken up by larger towns and
cities.
“We do however sign for these unincorporated towns, on smaller
state highways, when space is available and the location meets our
criteria. The criteria for signing to small unincorporated towns is
that they must have either a post office or at least two motorist
services such as food and a gas station.”
Manchester doesn’t do badly under those conditions. Manchester
State Park is included on destination signs on both Highway 16 and
Highway 160 (Sedgwick Road) and a sign on Highway 166 (Mile Hill
Drive) in Port Orchard, though past downtown, tells how many miles
it is to Manchester,
Kareen said she would have liked to see a more direct route
signed than going all the way to Sedgwick and doubling back on Long
(“very long,” she interjected) Lake Road.
Of course, there is always GPS, but Kareen can’t buy a break
there either.
The county renamed her tiny street in 2008 from Montana Street
to Jessica Way, because there is another stretch of Montana Street
that doesn’t connect to hers. The GPS in my 2010 Prius, bought in
January and presumable current, wanted to send me to Beaverton,
Oregon, when I ask for Jessica Way. It takes me directly to her
B&B when I ask for the old address on Montana Street, but when
GPS tells me I’m there, the sign says Jessica Way, which turns out
to be little more than a driveway. An unprepared person would drive
on, figuring the GPS screwed up.
Ironically, Kareen tells me, she still getS mail from Kitsap
County send to the Montana street address.