PORT ANGELES — Clallam Transit officials say they recognize that new bus stops on U.S. Highway 101 at Kolonels Way — the intersection in front of the new Walmart Supercenter — are problematic for bus-riding shoppers.
It’s tricky for some to cross the busy highway, they say, and there’s no sidewalk leading straight to the entrance of the three-week-old giant department store and supermarket at 3471 E. Kolonels Way.
Transit Board members on Monday told their staff to work with Walmart, Clallam County and state Department of Transportation officials to find a solution to what they consider to be a safety hazard.
Clallam Transit General Manager Terry Weed said Walmart officials have suggested a meeting to discuss ideas. He would not elaborate on what those ideas are.
“We continue to collect information,” Weed said.
“I think it’s a little early to debate or to discuss too many of those particulars on the merits of pro and con in that it’s still a work in progress.”
Rather than getting dropped off at the front doors of the new Supercenter — as Clallam Transit passengers were at the old Walmart store on the other side of the highway — riders disembark the No. 30 bus from either side of busy U.S. 101.
Those on the eastbound Sequim commuter bus must cross the highway and hike two-tenths of a mile to the new Walmart.
Transit officials say it’s a liability to operate on private property. They want to phase out other stops on private property — such as one at Rite Aid in eastern Port Angeles — to avoid the liability of operating in a busy parking lot and damaging pavement.
Bypassing the front-door Walmart service saves up to five minutes on the system’s most popular bus, which Weed acknowledges has a poor on-time performance.
Sue Liedtke of Forks, who is legally blind, complained to Clallam Transit officials last month and appeared before the Transit Board on Monday.
“I could never cross that highway by myself, not with the way it’s set up now,” Liedtke said.
Weed and Clallam Transit board member Pat Downie, the Port Angeles city councilman, rode the No. 30 bus with Liedtke to Walmart and escorted her into the store Nov. 2.
“I appreciate the fact that you are taking under consideration that there are safety issues,” Liedtke said.
Downie submitted a memo to fellow Transit Board members last week.
“Given Sue’s sight impairment and without the aid of an escort, the north-south crossing of Highway 101 at that intersection would be very difficult at best, if not indeed hazardous,” Downie wrote.
“Other persons with limited mobility due to age or certain disabilities would also experience similar concerns as those raised by Liedtke.”
There is no sound signal for pedestrians at the highway intersection at Kolonels Way. Downie and Weed said the traffic noise would probably drown out the sound anyway.
They also said the green light is too short for pedestrians.
Downie urged the board to engage state Transportation and Walmart to improve the safety of the crossing.
“Such a discussion should focus on lengthening the time available for pedestrians to cross the Highway 101-Kolonels Way intersection, the installation of activated ground-level blinking lights within the crosswalk and the possibility of Walmart providing some kind of jitney or small-wheeled cart service to and from the westbound Highway 101 bus stop and the store’s west-side customer entrance,” Downie wrote.
Still, Downie said he agrees with Weed that Clallam Transit should not operate on private property because of “serious liability and safety issues.”
“A smaller Paratransit bus, which does provide front-door service, is clearly the best and safest option for bus passengers with limited mobility wishing to access the new Walmart Port Angeles store,” Downie wrote.
Bremerton-based Paratransit Services is a specialized van that provides door-to-door transportation for anyone who qualifies as disabled or is older than 80 years.
Liedtke said she rides the regular bus because it’s more reliable and convenient than Paratransit because of space restrictions.
Clallam Transit officials say they won’t design a bus stop at the new Walmart. Original plans did not include a designated bus route to the store, Weed said.
He added that the highway stops are more consistent with the mass transit philosophy and Clallam Transit is not a door-to-door service.
Gary Gleason of Port Angeles, who spoke early in the monthly board meeting Monday, agreed that it’s not Clallam Transit’s job to provide door-to-door service to Walmart.
“Walmart is a private, for-profit corporation with sufficient financial resources to provide some kind of a courtesy cart, courtesy bus, courtesy van or enhanced airport shuttle,” Gleason said.
“The fact that your Paratransit gives door-to-door service, to me, is very suitable.”
Once across the highway, Walmart shoppers must also cross Kolonels Way to get to a sidewalk, and cross it again to get to the store.
Don Hall, Transit Board member and a Sequim city councilman, raise concerns about the lack of a store-side sidewalk on Kolonels Way.
“There’s no sidewalk going into Walmart,” he said.
“You have to walk on the road. That is dangerous.”
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-417-3537 or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.