SEQUIM — It’s time to do something about the annual traffic snarl on U.S. Highway 101 during Sequim Lavender Weekend, said the State Patrol and those involved with the events.
For 16 years, the Sequim events the third week of July have drawn visitors from all over the world.
The estimated 25,000 to 30,000 visitors are an economic boost to the town of about 6,600, but the backup in traffic on 101 has grown worse each year.
Despite traffic control by State Patrol troopers, long lines of vehicles often come to a dead stop at Sunshine Herb and Lavender Farm, 8 miles east of Sequim.
“This year was particularly bad. There were a lot of people waiting,” said Trooper Russ Winger, State Patrol spokesman.
Sunshine Lavender and Herb Farm is the first lavender location visitors encounter as they arrive from Seattle and other points east.
Many of them try to turn left into the farm, causing long traffic backups, he said.
Representatives of the State Patrol, state Department of Transportation, Clallam County, city of Sequim and the two lavender groups — the Sequim Lavender Growers Association and the Sequim Farmers Association — met Thursday at the State Patrol office in Port Angeles to begin a discussion on how to mitigate the growing problem.
Officials will estimate the actual number of cars trying to use the two-lane U.S. Highway 101 corridor — the only major thoroughfare road between Sequim and points east — using ground and air photos taken by Transportation, Winger said.
Those numbers are expected to be available late this week, he added, along with a plan for 2013 ready for review.
This year, rain may have dampened attendance during the final day of the three-day festival July 22, said Barbara Hanna, city of Sequim communications and marketing director.
But she and organizers of the weekend’s events felt that the lighter precipitation on the first two days made up for it.
During the second year in a row for rainy weather at the Sequim Lavender Weekend, organizers said that though visitors were disappointed with gray skies, they were still eager to attend the two street fairs and the two tours offered by the growers association and the farmers association.
In the past, organizers have estimated 25,000 to 30,000 or more visitors attend the summer event each year.
This year, attendance was probably within that range, Hanna said, but because most of the events are free and venues are spread out over several miles, it is difficult to know the actual attendance.
On Sunday, heavier rains reduced the crowds but didn’t chase them away completely.
“This is the Northwest. Rain doesn’t deter people,” she said.
Hanna said visitors she talked to from the South and Midwest, areas currently in the grip of a major drought and ongoing high temperatures, seemed to be enjoying the cool, damp weather.
“It was a huge relief to them,” she said.
“It’s difficult that we had serious rain two years in a row,” said Scott Nagel, executive director of the farmers association, which organizes the Sequim Lavender Farm Faire, including Lavender in the Park and the Heritage Lavender Farm Tour.
Nagel noted that the first two days of the festival looked like the “old days,” with attendance estimates similar to pre-2011 numbers.
On Friday, the parking area at Jardin du Soleil Lavender Farm was full, so organizers had to work with the farm to find more parking for that Saturday, which was even busier, Nagel said.
“The buses were packed on Saturday,” he said, referring to a bus-based farm tour organized by the farmers association.
City organizers added features to the lavender celebration this year, including a loop shuttle bus to in-town events and parking, a one-look directory for all weekend events and tourist information booths to help visitors find their way.
“I’ve been doing this for 10 years, and this year, there were a lot of people. It was wall-to-wall people on Saturday,” said Terry Stolz, president of the growers association, which hosts the Sequim Lavender Festival Street Fair and a free self-guided tour called the Sequim Lavender Festival Farm Tour.
“It was extremely successful, considering the economy and the weather,” Stolz said.
He estimated that about 60 percent of the visitors were from Western Washington, with a large number from out of state — including other countries.
He heard languages other than English being spoken.
Stolz also noted that two years of rain for the Lavender Weekend was unusual.
“I think we’re due a nice, sunny weekend next year,” he said.
Stoltz, Nagel and Hanna agreed that while it seemed there was an increase in visitors, it was harder to estimate exactly how many visitors attended.
“It was in the thousands,” Nagel said.
Motel and hotel rooms in Sequim were booked all weekend, festival organizers said.
“They weren’t leaving. Everyone was happy and pleased. They enjoyed it,” said Josh Huntington, desk clerk at the Holiday Inn Express in Sequim.
Many were return visitors who knew what to expect from Olympic Peninsula summers and were resigned to the gray weather, Huntington said.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arwyn.rice@peninsuladailynews.com.