Eastsound Committee: Traffic Circles for “A” Street?

Eastsound Planning Review Committee Meets Thursday, Aug. 1 from 3 to 5 p.m. at Eastsound Fire Hall

By Margie Doyle

(Note: at the Aug. 1 EPRC meeting, there will be updates on “A” Street and Prune Alley improvements. Also on the agenda are updates from County Planners on the Eastsound Sub-area Plan, reviews on kiosk and food truck regulations and a report from County Councilman Rick Hughes.)

At the last Eastsound Planning Review Committee (EPRC) meeting on July 11, the county advisory committee presented options for re-routing traffic on “A” Street in Eastsound. EPRC member Fred Klein displayed architectural renderings prepared by himself and architect Bill Trogdon. County Engineers Shannon Wilbur and Rachel Dietzman attended the meeting and commented on the process to make changes to street infrastructure and traffic patterns.

This summer, the County Public Works department is surveying “A” Street for installation of pipes and catch basins for stormwater management, which will take place this fall.

Curbs, gutters and landscaping and traffic issues, including vehicle turnaround and potential decrease in intersection traffic will be dealt with later, with a scheduled 2016 work date.

With the road reconstruction scheduled for 2016, Klein and Trogdon were asked by county engineering to:

1)      look at streetscape portion and develop concepts, proper street widths, pedestrian access, etc.;
2)      consider increased scope of the project for improved streetscape plan and circulation.

Klein mounted and described five options for the street, including:

Turnaround option #1
Install a 100-ft diameter traffic circle, with a 40-ft diameter “landscaped island” such as the one in Anacortes at the top of Commercial Street. This circle would start at the east end of the Post Office and the Seaview Parking lot.

Turnaround option #2
Extend public right of way across from Orcas Athletics and into wetland buffer, and about five feet of the wetland itself. This option would require more land acquisition from Orcas Athletics and the projected Market Square development east of the Post Office.

North turn extension option #3
Extend county right of way extend across northern boundary of Orcas Athletics and turn north to connect to Orion Lane to allow  one-way, northbound-only traffic for large trucks to deal with egress for large trucks from “A” Street, past Lavender Hollow and Orcas Christian School, exiting on Enchanted Forest Road.

Turnaround option 4
Install 80-ft diameter circle west of the Post Office and Seaview theater. Such a plan would not be sufficient for large trucks; they would continue and head up Orion Lane.

Turnaround option 5
Extend “A” Street with full improvements and do a smaller circle at the end, without encroaching into wetlands (reducing by half the amount into the buffer).

As the EPRC discussed these options, Klein observed that any plans raise “some sticky problems that we’ve kicked down the road for too many years.”

With questions from the EPRC about speed and vehicle limits on Orion Lane, Klein responded that this option “deserves discussion; we’re trying to have limited impact on Lavender Hollow [housing].”

However County Councilman Rick Hughes said of the Orion Lane extension option, “With a school on one side and housing on the other side, I would not be in favor [of that option].”

EPRC members Ken Katz and Jobin Suthergreen questioned whether large trucks should access “A” Street at all, or whether another “staging” area in Eastsound would be advisable. Clyde Duke said that the Seaview parking lot was already being used to off-load large truck deliveries to smaller, more maneuverable vehicles.

Dietzman again said that the “A” Street reconstruction is planned “because we have drainage issues, and the street itself is failing. We have to do a project there no matter what… to put in proper infrastructure. Clearly the issues of turnaround and possible connection to Orion Lane are big issues;  but the stormwater work on “A” Street is not contingent on improved circulation.

“It’s still a dead-end street and needs a proper turnaround,” she said.

Wilbur said, “We have time now that these ideas have been introduced to do street construction work. I expect it will likely be next year before we introduce the options for a community wide conversation. Everything is still on the table; no decisions are being made at this point.

“We definitely will continue this.”