Here’s what’s scheduled for Prune Alley roadwork this week

To Jesse and other engineers involved in the Prune Alley Road Project:

How about a complete overview of the plan, right here on the Orcasonian? Maps, timelines, room for comment and suggestions. Just exactly what can be expected, for how long of a “minimum?” Have the tourist industries been notified? – and will they advise tourists to NOT bring their cars to Eastsound?

I have many questions on how this will be cared for and maintained, during and after the duration of this project.

1. Who will keep the dust and debris from flying all around and swirling in the air in our very windy Eastsound, as soon as the rain dries up for even a couple of days? Come on into town and you will see what I am talking about. There are literally dust and dirt devils swirling at eye level and higher, all the seasons of the year now, whenever the weather clears in our little wind-tunnel town devoid of more and more of its windbreak (trees).

2) Will the trees you intend to keep, be cared for and deep watered weekly? By whom and for how long? What will happen to the rest of the trees?

3) have Public Works engineers tried to consider going AROUND some of the street trees with the sidewalk, without tearing all of them out? Have you considered moving the fruit trees such as crabapples? Have you offered them to landscapers to come and get them with their own backhoes or excavators? Feb./March would have been the perfect time for moving trees.

4) Will the ENTIRE stretch of Prune Alley really be closed to foot and auto traffic through at least mid July? This is the first many of us heard of this. The stock answer of, “you knew about this project for two years” won’t cut it here. I combed through the archives of 3 local papers including this one, and found nothing – not a single article or public service notification – past Oct 2020. So where, and how, were people supposed to be informed? Is the Plan at our Public Library and did you announce that? If it’s not, when can we hope to see it there?

5) Are there plans for there to be ANY trees or shade on Prune Alley when all is done, and if not, what will the new name of the road become, since Prune Alley will be moot as a road name?

6) Who will maintain the intersections already disturbed so they don’t get terrible car-wrecking potholes, especially the two intersections North and South ends of Prune Alley? You have done a great job at this during the week but what happens when you open the roads on the weekends?

7) What is the storm water plan for this quadrant area? I saw the huge concrete pipes that I assume are outflow pipes. How about posting that Plan on the papers too, so we all can see? Please tell me that all the runoff won’t be dumping into non-flushing Fishing Bay, where eelgrass is recovering and we are hoping to have salmon recovery someday.

7b) What people don’t know is that Eastsound Basin watershed is divided into four quadrants slated for storm water treatment ; this current quadrant has a no storm water treatment plan, so we assume you are going to put this in as you tear up the roads. Which other roads will be affected by that, and what kind of treatment is planned for those waters? A detailed plan map would help us visualize it.

8) What is being done for residents of Longhouse and other apartment or home dwellers in and near town to get around on foot, by wheelchair, bike, or auto, during these long months of disruption and construction? It will be very dusty and dirty. The rain we are having now is a blessing.

I’m sure there are more questions, but these are the ones I have for starters. I also suggest wherever possible that you make crosswalks for before and after hours, and don’t expect or make people walk all the way around – there are elders, you know. They need access – especially from Longhouse.

The girl at the intersection gave the stock answer I get when I ask questions, “Well, you knew about this for two years.” No, we didn’t. Not the final details, estimated duration, or that there would be the complete road closures the entire time.

That’s great that the road will be usable “on weekends.” But are you aware of how torn up the soft roads get in just one day? Not all people drive with sanity or respect for the roads or for other drivers.

I think more transparency now would go a long way to save everyone a lot of headaches, and also if we knew that Public Works is willing to give a little,in terms of flexibility and attempts to minimize problems for the community – especially given that our businesses and community have basically been in lockdown for two years.

Please don’t treat us as though we are dumb or ignorant when we didn’t know the half of this; and then have your employees less than half our age scold us for not knowing. I just found out myself, 3 days ago. Many people I have spoken with in and around town expressed the same surprise and dismay that I did – that they too just found out.

These weekly reports in the paper are a great start, but we need to see them in context of the whole. Don’t just tell us to go to the county website. Have you tried navigating that morass? At least provide direct links to the maps and Plan, and if you haven’t, please provide a full sized Plan to our Public Library, which should be standard for all your large road plan projects; and do let us know when it arrives so we can look at it. I’ll let Holly know to expect this. A notebook with the Plan would be great; that can live up front where people can easily look at it.. Thank you.