Public process open on Adams Street

PORT TOWNSEND — The city has opened a month-long public process to help determine the fate of Adams Street.

An open house and two committee meetings have been scheduled to gather comments regarding a one-block section that connects downtown Port Townsend to uptown between Jefferson and Franklin streets.

That portion has been closed for nearly a year, when it was used as a staging area for a construction crew that installed sidewalks on Jefferson Street.

The question now is whether to close it permanently to motorized traffic, allowing only bicycles and pedestrians on the street, or if the city should select one of several options to reopen it based on cost estimates that range from $3,000 to $15,000.

So far, City Council members have agreed only that the public wasn’t involved in the de facto closure last year.

“I’m pleased that the Transportation Committee has agreed to a sensible and comprehensive approach to community engagement,” City Manager John Mauro said. “This was something that we neglected to do at the outset of the closure, and I’m confident that going back to get this right will result in a better outcome for everyone.”

An open house will be conducted from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Port Townsend Community Center, 620 Tyler St. The Active Transportation Advisory Board will meet at 4:30 p.m. March 5 with a public comment period in the first floor conference room at City Hall, 250 Madison St.

The Transportation Committee, which will gather public comments throughout, will have another comment period when it meets at 3 p.m. March 18.

Committee Chair David Faber and council members Pam Adams and Owen Rowe plan to make a recommendation to the full City Council prior to its April 6 business meeting.

“I think the key overarching question here that’s been dogging this process is, does this committee feel this would represent a sufficient public process to generate all the information necessary to make a final recommendation to the whole of council, as well as to actually determine whether or not this street should be reopened fully or closed fully?” Faber asked during a Transportation Committee meeting Feb. 19.

Sam Feinson, the chair of the city’s Active Transportation Advisory Board, said council members already have access to cost and engineering estimates and said the public comments would provide additional input.

“This was the missing piece,” Faber said.

In addition to the three public meetings, the city will have comment cards available at City Hall that ask for the public’s preference and whether or not they have suggestions for future use.

The comment cards also will be available during the open house.

At the same time, the committee is considering road closure criteria that could be used in the future if the city has a similar situation.

The criteria includes factors such as maintenance, neighborhood calming effects, environmental benefits, Complete Street and comprehensive plan policies in addition to impacts to other streets and residential access.

Interim Public Works Director Dave Peterson said Adams Street would be used as a pilot project within the criteria guidelines.

Rowe cautioned committee members by saying they can make a particular recommendation, but the finance and budget committee also would be involved in a final decision based on cost projections.

“If you do either one, you have investment in the project,” Peterson said.

A full closure has been estimated to cost $3,000 with an improvement of pathway edge vegetation and the installation of bollards, Peterson’s memo to City Council stated on Jan. 10. It would take about one to two months, Peterson said.

The high-end estimate for $15,000 would include paving and restoring the corners and reopening the street with parking along both shoulders. It would take one to two weeks to open the street and three months for the full process, Peterson said.

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Jefferson County Managing Editor Brian McLean can be reached at 360-385-2335, ext. 6, or at bmclean@peninsuladailynews.com.