Hansville Resident Writes Essay On Speed Bumps, Takes 'Big Picture' View; Predicts Potential Legal Battle
April 15, 2008 -- Hansville resident Trevor Dutton provides a thoughtful and comprehensive essay on the speed bump controversy.
John Hostvedt of beep4bumps.com said, "If you read nothing else before the Apr. 23 controversial speed bump meeting [called by county commissioner Steve Bauer], read what Dutton has to say. You may not share his point of view, but he really covers all the bases."
Click here for a printable .pdf of Dutton's essay. Dutton can be reached at trevordutton@comcast.net.
Is RSAC Dead? Email Goes Unanswered, Bauer Dismisses GHAAC and RSAC on Bumps Issue
April 14, 2008 -- Patricia Pinkham, who served as co-chair of the Road Safety Advisory Committee (RSAC) with Kathleen Bourassa, has ignored an email from beep4bumps.com asking if the committee plans to continue recommending area traffic alterations.
Bourassa resigned from the committee last month and another committee member, Steve Minor of the bumps on Hood Canal Drive, stopped attending meetings after the decision to install the bumps was final last summer.
In addition to information about the committee's futures, the email also requests records of committee member attendance. Despite the committee's obligation to comply with the state's open records laws, Pinkham has given no response.
Click here for the full text of the inquiry.
Kitsap County Democratic Party Gives Nod to Appointee Bauer Without Waiting for All Potential Candidates to Emerge
April 15, 2008 -- Carl Olson, chair of the county's Democratic party, said the party heads voted to endorse appointee Steve Bauer as their choice for county commissioner for district 1. He said no other names will be considered by the party.
Candidates have until the first week in June to declare their candidacy for county commissioner. Under new rules established recently by the state supreme court, candidates can run as a Democrat, Republican or any other party affiliation -- or no party affiliation.
If more than one person
Olson said that Bauer was the party's choice when former commissioner, Chris Endreson, also a Democrat, left and the Dems put Bauer's name forward as an appointee.
That process, he said, was sufficient to determine its endorsement even though Bauer's past performance as Bellevue City Manager may suggest Kitsap County is importing King County's past problems. See this October, 1999, Seattle Times article on Bauer's departure from Bellevue.
Statistical Analyst Says Road Committee Data Doesn't Justify Speed Bumps; Latest Data -- with Bumps in Place -- Show 14% Speed Increase on Bridgeview While Overwhelming Number of Drivers Cannot Reach Legal Speeds At Other Bumps
February 25, 2008 -- It comes as no surprise to most users of Hood Canal Dr., Twin Spits Road, and Bridgeview Dr., that statistics used by the Road Safety Advisory Committee did not justify the October 2007-installed "speed calming" speed bumps.
A Driftwood Key resident and statistical analyst by trade, Frank Fox, analyzed the data and finds it difficult to draw any definitive conclusions. He says the committee's data cannot be used to prove or disprove any hypothesis.
In his report, Fox focuses on three assertions made by the road committee: 1.) too many speeders, 2.) education efforts failed, 3.) speed tables can be traveled at posted speeds. Data shows that none of these assertions are accurate, his report shows.
"In summary," Fox says, "the data was not collected in an organized manner, the assertions that were made to justify the speed tables were not data driven and it appears that emotional responses to perceived issues were used to support a stratified view of the data taken by the county."
"In fact," Fox continues, "when you add the federal and state guidelines for classification of hazardous roads and intersections, the areas that the speed tables were place in Hansville have such low hazard rating that they do not appear on the listing.
For his full report, click here.
Asst. Attorney General Suggests State Audit of Kitsap County Speed Limits in Light of Phony Hood Canal Dr. Speed Limit Posting That Received No Law Enforcement Investigation
February 25, 2008 -- In an email to beep4bumps.com, Washington Asst. Attorney General Tim Ford (pictured), suggested that the state auditor be contacted about phony Hood Canal Dr. speed limits that were known by and
ignored by Kitsap County law enforcement officials and public works department officials.Beep4bumps.com encourages North Kitsap Residents to contact the state auditor (website: http://www.sao.wa.gov/ ) to ask for a review of county speed limits.
"If the [Kitsap] public works department and the sheriff's department look the other way when local residents freely falsify speed limits in their neighborhoods -- and even go to the extent of sheriff deputies enforcing the phony speed limits, how can we as a community have any confidence in our speed limits?" asked one Driftwood Key resident.
Click here for the email exchange that and see related article of Feb. 9th on this page.
Sheriff's Dept. Knew About Phony 25 MPH Speed Limit Signs on Hood Canal Dr., County Records Show
Lack of Investigation Raises Questions About Integrity of All Kitsap County Speed Limits
February 9, 2007 -- County records show that the Kitsap County Sheriff's Department knew that false 25 MPH signs were posted on Hood Canal Drive in 2005 but failed to investigate.
Click here to read a public records request by this web site and click here to see the department's response. The department says it has no records related to the false speed limit.
Investigative report Case # 05-033 by County Investigator Steve Johnson, March 2, 2005, makes three things clear:
- The Sheriff's Department knew about the phony signs in 2005
- The speed limit for Hood Canal Drive south of the hairpin curve was originally set at 35 mph and should remain at 35 mph based on traffic studies.
- That stretch of road should never have been considered for traffic calming devices such as speed bumps, humps, or tables.
For all eight pages of Johnson's investigative report, click here. In the report, Johnson said in 2005: "The Sheriff's Department is aware of the improperly posted 25 mph signs and therefore does not vigorously enforce the speed limit. Once again, the lack of collisions indicates the proper speed limit is 35 mph."
Beep4bumps has asked Assistant Attorney General Timothy Ford to provide a legal opinion on the issue. For that email, click here.
See the Sheriff Page for more details.
Please note that if you have information related to the activities of the Sheriff's Department that would be of benefit to readers, please let us know at: info@beep4bumps.com.
Driftwood Key Resident Tells DK Rep. on GHAAC, 'Quit Pretending to Speak for My Interests'
Bauer Says, 'GHAAC Has Become a Convenient Scapegoat'
February 9, 2008 -- James Wesson, a Driftwood Key resident, joins a growing chorus of voices speaking out against the political activities of the Greater Hansville Area Advisory Council (GHAAC), a group officially chartered by the Kitsap County Board of Commissioners to speak for the interests of North Kitsap County.
By email, Wesson told Driftwood Key's representative on GHAAC, Jerry Ulsund, to stop assuming GHAAC is a voice for the interests of Driftwood Key residents.
Ulsund has been representing Driftwood Key on the Greater Hansville Area Advisory Council (GHAAC) for more than 10 months despite that fact that no endorsement was ever given by the DK Board of Trustees for such representation. See related story on this page.
Wesson's voice is one of a growing number of area residents who are frustrated and angered by the activities of GHAAC in manipulating speed limits, installing speed bumps, and attempting to shift county funds away from needed flood control efforts.
Wesson also made his views known to County Commissioner Steve Bauer, who was a founder of GHAAC. In an email to Bauer, Wesson asks, "Do you drive over those speed bumps in Cliffside every day?"
In his response, Bauer didn't answer that but for the record, Bauer's home address on Bruce Lane in Hansville means he doesn't have to drive over either set of speed bumps.
Bauer tells Wesson that he doesn't like the speed bumps either but he claims there hasn't been a better solution. Solution to what, he doesn't say. However speed studies conducted by the county do not indicate a level of speeding that justifies the devices at the expense of emergency vehicle response times. For a Twin Spits Study, click here. For a Hood Canal Drive study, click here.
For Wesson's email exchange with Ulsund, click here.
For Wesson's email exchange with Bauer, click here.
March 8, 2008 -- After weeks of discussion, the Driftwood Key Board of Trustees finally voted unanimously to disassociate itself with the Greater Hansville Area Advisory Council (GHAAC), saying in a letter to the county that it would like its own relationship with Kitsap County and that GHAAC does not speak for DK.
The trustees published the letter in the official DK newsletter, Keynotes on page 4, (click here for the March copy) but on the page preceding the letter, Jerry Ulsund provided a full page routine GHAAC report, much of which was out-of-date. Ulsund's name is also listed on the back cover along with trustee names as a committee chair.
GHAAC's continued access to free, unverified publicity in the official DK newsletter raises ethical questions that the board will have to account for. Questions have also been raised by DK members regarding GHAAC's use of DK community property.
An official legal opinion by the Asst. Attorney General Timothy Ford, whose special state mandate is to promote openness in government, says GHAAC must comply with open meetings and open records laws
GHAAC, however, has shown no evidence of compliance to these laws. GHAAC was given official government status by Kitsap County June 18, 2007, the same day the county voted to install Hansville area speed bumps on commuter/collector roads that also serve as emergency response routes.
The Petitions Are In --
Can 632 Hansville Residents Be Wrong?
February 26, 2008 -- Several concerned North Kitsap County residents gave testimony in opposition to the Hansville speed bumps Feb. 25, 2008, while presenting Kitsap County Commissioners Jan Angel and Steve Bauer with 632 signatures demanding the immediate removal of the Hansville speed bumps. Commissioner Josh Brown did not attend Monday's regularly scheduled commissioner meeting.
Most notably, none of the petitioners said further study by the Greater Hansville Area Advisory Council's (GHAAC) Road Safety Advisory Committee (RSAC) was needed or welcomed on the matter.
The petitions made it extremely clear that removal of the bumps was an immediate demand. The question remains, will the commission listen and comply?
How significant is this for Hansville?
Appointed Kitsap County Commissioner Steve Bauer -- who voted himself county chairman recently -- has said repeatedly in boilerplate emails to constituents that a meeting in 2007 that attracted 100 Hansville residents to talk about speeding issues [not necessarily people even supporting the ill-conceived speed bump plan] was, Bauer writes, "the equivalent of 16,000 residents if this were Seattle."
The 632 petitioners against the bumps makes that number now appear insignificant and Hansville residents aren't likely to buy Bauer's 'this-had-broad-community-support-and--you-should-have-been-at-the-meeting' argument any longer. In late 2007, Bauer isolated himself from Hansville residents who opposed the speed bumps by saying he'd only work through the special interest group, GHAAC, that he helped create. See related stories on the News Archive page.
Said concerned Kitsap County resident Barbara Fox at the Feb. 25th meeting, "In Commissioner Bauer's article, he stated 100 Hansville residents is equivalent to more than 16,000 Seattle residents, implying that the 632 Hansville residents that signed the petitions to remove the bumps is equivalent to 100,640 Seattle residents."
"In an election," Fox told commissioners Monday, "This would be a landslide victory against the speed bumps."
Among speed bump opponents speaking Feb. 25 was Hansville property owner Hugh Tucker, a retired high-ranking fire department official from Los Angeles. He warned the two commissioners that the speed bumps make Kitsap County vulnerable to massive liability lawsuits related to delayed emergency response times resulting from the "traffic calming" devices.
Tucker outlined to the commission how no legitimate studies were done to determine emergency response times and noted that politicians gave in to local pressure by home owners while ignoring the well-being of the community.
In a registered letter he sent to the commissioners last week, Tucker called for the dissolution of the local road committee that urged installation of the bumps. See related article on this page.
For more information about the petitions, contact Public Information officer for Kitsap County, Elizabeth Watkins, for a video copy of the Feb. 25, 2008, meeting. If possible, beep4bumps.com will post the video here in the next few days. Stay tuned.
GHAAC Meeting Scheduled for March 11 --
New Opportunity to Ask Questions, Take Photos
March 11, 2008 -- Local Hansville resident Barb Fox has observed that the Greater Hansville Area Advisory Council (GHAAC) has planned a meeting for the evening of Tuesday, March 11.
Fox writes in an email, "I reviewed the hansville.org website and discovered we now have a "Greater" Hansville Community Center. I also found that no road safety committee meetings have been scheduled for March, April or May. However, there is a GHAAC meeting tomorrow night where we could ask about the issues of road safety meetings and 98346 zip codes participating in our community's development. The only suggestion I have is to continue to attend these meetings and ask questions."
The meeting is at the Hansville Community Center at Buck Lake according to Hansville.org. However, the frequent cancellations recently by GHAAC might indicate that it would be wise to contact the community center to make sure the meeting is still on. Their email address is listed as ghcc@hansville.org.
Beep4bumps.com suggests participants bring cameras and share snapshots with this website and the local media.
Check out our newly reorganized News Archive for all past articles, or click on the News Archive tab above.
Commissioner Bauer's Past May Give Insight Into His Arrogant Approach to 600+ Hansville Petitioners Who Want Speed Bumps Removed
Bauer Refuses to Step Aside in Conducting Apr. 23 Speed Bump Meeting Despite Conflict of Interest
April 15, 2008 -- Bauer's departure from Bellevue's city manager post in 1999 may help answer questions people have on the Kitsap County commissioner's lack of responsiveness and outright arrogance on the speed bump issue.
The Seattle Times reported, in October of that year, that Bauer abruptly resigned as Bellevue city manager. The article says Bauer collected seven months severance pay from his $123,000 salary.
"You don't retire and collect severance pay," said one petition organizer who cited Bauer's commissioner biography as indicating he retired as Bellevue city manager, "He was probably fired."
Said the Times article, "After averaging 54 departures a year through the early 1990s, this city of 1,100 employees lost 96 people last year -- many of them longtime, high-ranking staffers. That number is expected to rise this year. A large number cited Bauer as one reason they left. And in a 'core values' poll last spring, many complained they didn't feel the city manager trusted or respected them."
For the complete text of the Times article, click here.
Bauer's "prickly personal style" as the Times reported in 1999, has apparently carried over to his appointment as Chris Endresen's replacement on the Kitsap County Board of Commissioners, particularly when it comes to those who oppose the Hansville area speed bumps he helped to create before getting his commissioner role.
After receiving more than 600 signatures from Hansville area residents demanding removal of the bumps, Bauer has responded by canceling a Feb. 28th "committee" meeting and then rescheduling it for Apr. 23 at the Hansville Community Center. Bauer said in a news release to local papers that he wants to set up two committees, one to look at leaving the bumps in place and the other to explore alternatives to them.
Several petitioners have protested Bauer's committee approach and particularly the notion that he'd be running the meeting.
In an email to Bauer that Bauer never responded to, beep4bumps author John Hostvedt wrote, "We feel that because of your extremely strong and consistent "pro-speed bump" stand on this, it would be highly inappropriate if you officiated at this meeting. Even your "news release" refers to the speed bumps as "effective" as though that were a fact. Yet there's absolutely no
agreement on that in Hansville. I believe that the bumps are not only NOT effective, I
feel they've reduced the level of road safety in Hansville for a large variety of reasons all
readily available at www.beep4bumps.com."
Others joined in via email to protest Bauer's conflict of interest. Long-time community resident Gerald Kearney wrote to Bauer and Commissioners Jan Angel and Josh Brown to suggest a mediator be provided for the meeting. He and others asked Bauer to step aside.
Bauer's response: "I do not intend to step aside. This issue is too complicated to ask someone else to step in and facilitate."
For the text of a string of e-mail exchanges on the Apr. 23 meeting, click here.
The petition organizers strongly recommend that North Kitsap County residents who oppose the speed bumps attend the Apr. 23 meeting with cameras and camcorders.
Bauer has indicated in his news release that the Greater Hansville Area Advisory Council (GHAAC) and its Road Safety Advisory Committee (RSAC) will no longer have a role in the speed bump issue.
Bauer, a chief architect of GHAAC, said in his release that he'd be inviting Sheriff Steve Boyer and Fire District #10 Chief Dan Smith, both of whom advocated speed bumps for Hansville only two emergency response routes last year.
Bauer also said he'd be seeking someone from the county's public works department to attend the meeting.
Steve Johnson with the county's public works department would be the most logical attendee.
Speed bump advocates, including the RSAC group, have blamed the county public works department for installing the speed bumps incorrectly.
Although, when asked through a public records request, the county failed to produce as-builts or engineering drawings of the speed bumps, suggesting that perhaps there never were any established specifications for the divisive devices.
Majority of North Kitsap County Residents Want Speed Bumps Removed;
County Commissioner Bauer Delays Action with Plan to Create More Committees
March 25, 2008 – While the majority of Hansville area residents wait for Kitsap County to act in removing speed bumps on Twin Spits Rd., Hood Canal Dr. and Bridgeview Dr., appointed county commissioner, Steve Bauer, issues a press release for speed bump meeting for April 23.
The release calls for the same strategy Bauer was promoting for a canceled meeting that was to be held Feb. 28. He says he wants to form two groups, one to determine how to make the speed bumps somehow different to lessen their impact to the community and the other, to explore alternatives other than speed bumps to mitigate what’s perceived to be a speeding problem. He's scheduling it for Apr. 23 at the Hansville Community Center at Buck Lake.
County studies have shown no significant speeding problems at any of the speed bump locations. County staff had recommended against the speed bumps. The bumps violate county policy in its “Neighborhood Traffic Calming Program.” More than 600 area residents have signed a petition, most by mail, demanding their removal.
The news release, which Bauer sent to media outlets, refers to the bumps as “effective,” however most residents argue that they are neither effective nor safe, causing delayed emergency response times, tailgating, illegal passing, a false sense of security for cyclists and pedestrians, and other reasons listed on the removal petition.
Additionally, several petition organizers argue that if Bauer’s meeting were to occur, Bauer is the least qualified to lead it. Bauer has been decidedly pro-bump from the beginning of this controversy, having been a key proponent of the bumps prior to his appointment as commissioner. Bauer’s home on Bruce Lane is south of the Twin Spits speed bumps, meaning that he does not have to cross them to commute.
Bauer is inviting county sheriff Steve Boyer and county staff to answer questions, however, residents are asking for unbiased outside experts.
Jan Angel, Kitsap County Commissioner from the south end of the county, is asking for a county briefing on the subject. She said she didn’t know about Bauer’s surprise meeting until she was copied on an email.
- In related news:
Judith Foritano, leader of the Greater Hansville Area Advisory Council (GHAAC), berated anti-bump citizens at a recent GHAAC meeting according to community members. GHAAC recommended installation of the bumps last summer and has focused on the speed bumps is part of its “vision” for Hanville. Bauer was instrumental in establishing the controversial GHAAC. - The Driftwood Key Board of Trustees told Bauer it would send a trustee to watchdog the GHAAC group and insisted upon its own relationship with the county rather than having to speak through GHAAC. They asked Bauer to agree to a set of conditions that they plan to publish in an upcoming issue of Keynotes, their official homeowner’s association newsletter.
- Shore Woods resident Doug Leibrant and 70 of his neighbors have decided to take on another controversial GHAAC-endorsed “traffic-safety” issue. GHAAC’s road safety committee, as one of its first orders of business, pushed for a four-way stop at the corner of Aspen and Ponderosa in the Shore Woods community. Committee members and proponents of the signs claim they had a petition but no county records show evidence of a petition. Like the speed bumps, county staff recommended against the stop sign but residents living at the intersection prevailed. Now users of the intersection are fighting back, asking for the four-way stop to be removed with a petition showing 70 signatures, an overwhelming majority of residents who use the intersection everyday. See Unjustified Stop.
- Kathy Bourassa resigned as co-chair of the Road Safety Advisory Committee (RSAC) of GHAAC. The other co-chair, Patricia Pinkham, also of Hood Canal Drive, did not answer inquiries as to what was to become of the committee. No future committee meetings appear scheduled on GHAAC’s website. An attendance record of committee members was requested, but Pinkham did not respond to the request. Some community members asked for the list, noting that speed-bump proponents stopped attending committee meetings once the county agreed to install the devices. It raises questions about whether those members were concerned about traffic safety or merely self-interested to get speed bumps since they live at the speed bump locations.
- Before the deadline to file candidacy papers for a county commission seat, the Kitsap County Democratic Party endorsed Steve Bauer for election, said party chair Carl Olsen. The endorsement does not preclude candidates to run against Bauer under any party banner or as an independent. Olsen expressed disinterest in the controversy surrounding Bauer, GHAAC, the speed bumps, and north county discontent in general. The filing deadline is the first week in June for anyone wishing to run against Bauer.
NOTE: If you'd like to help get better representation for Kitsap County's north end, please contact info@beep4bumps.com
High-Ranking Retired Los Angeles Fire Official Sounds the Alarm Against Hansville Speed Bumps
In Report to Kitsap County, Hugh Tucker Calls for Legitimate Studies, Removal of Bumps, and Dissolution of GHAAC Road Committee
February 24, 2008 -- Hugh Tucker, retired battalion chief of the Los Angeles Fire Department and Hansville property owner, has sent a set of pointed recommendations to the Kitsap County Commission calling for the immediate removal of the speed bumps/tables.
Tucker says in his letter, copied to state political officials and State Fire Marshal Mike Matlick: "Without question, speed bumps impact emergency response times. The question is: by how much? Given today's litigating society, I have no doubt that any incidents where emergency responders must cross speed control devices to get to the scene of an emergency and the delayed response contributes to or results in injuries, loss of life, or loss of property will be cause for litigation against the county."
Tucker includes in his report a narrative of an interview he had with the now retired local Fire Chief Paul Nichol. Of Nichol, Tucker says in his narrative, "He stated that in late 2006 he [Nichol] received a telephone call from then Commissioner Chris Endresen informing him that Hansville people pay a lot of taxes and they are going to get their bumps whether he liked it or not."
Nichol, Tucker says, admitted that no legitimate study of the bumps and response times was conducted. He said that Nichol told him he "drove over the bump on Hansville Rd with his [Ford] Explorer at approximately 20 to 25 MPH and it was too fast as everything in the back of the vehicle flew all over the place."
For the complete text of Mr. Tucker's letter, click here.
Shore Woods Residents Asked to Speak Out on GHAAC Speed Bumps at March 8th Annual Meeting
February 25, 2008 -- Gerald A. Kearney, an attorney and Shore Woods resident, is encouraging residents to attend the Shore Woods annual meeting at noon on March 8th at the Shore Woods clubhouse to speak out on the speed bump issue.
Also of concern to Kearney is Shore Woods questionable relationship with the Greater Hansville Area Advisory Council (GHAAC) of which the Shore Woods president, Wayne Stiles, is a member and self-appointed representative of Shore Woods.
According to a Driftwood Key (DK) trustee, Stiles told DK President Bill Buegel that Shore Woods residents mostly support the speed bumps. However, a petition drive to remove the bumps shows strong speed bump opposition in Shore Woods.
GHAAC's road safety committee, with GHAAC endorsement, asked the county to install the bumps in May of 2007. The county complied last June and the bumps were installed in October -- at a price tag of nearly $50,000, more than $20,000 over what GHAAC told north Kitsap County residents.
DK has also been focused on the speed bump issue. Trustees there are telling Kitsap County that GHAAC does not represent them in county matters. Although the DK board has fallen short of taking a position on the bumps, some trustees want to poll DK membership to determine the association's position. Again, a petition drive to demand removal of the bumps shows strong opposition in DK to the bumps.
Click here for a printable invitation from Kearney and details of the Shore Woods meeting.
Petition Efforts Show Speed Bumps Never Had Broad Community Support
February 8, 2007 -- In less than a month, concerned North Kitsap County residents and homeowners have gathered more than six times the number of signatures used to make the case for speed bumps on Hood Canal Dr., Bridgeview Dr., and Twin Spits Rd.
Pro-speed bump county commissioner, Steve Bauer, often cites a 2007 Hansville meeting at which 100 residents gathered to hear about speeding issues, as an indicator of community support. It remains unclear how many of the 100 were actually supporting the bumps. However, Bauer says, the number of attendees "...would be the equivalent of about 16,000 people attending a meeting in Seattle." Click here for his email.
Now voices to remove the bumps are weighing in, making it clear that users of these roads disfavor the speed bumps in large numbers.
"If this were Seattle, anti-bump petition signers would fill Qwest Field," said one signer, citing Bauer's analogy. "And they'd have to put the over flow in Safeco."
The petition efforts give hope to residents who want to see the restoration of Hansville's smooth, safe commuter routes. They vow to continue to write letters and collect signatures.
The key question will be whether Kitsap County Commissioners Jan Angel and Josh Brown will be willing to listen to the rapidly growing numbers angered citizens and break with their pro speed bump colleague Bauer in a needed 2-1 vote to have them removed.
Bauer, the only unelected commissioner of the three, was a chief architect in the planning process to have speed bumps installed. His term ends this year but he has said he will run for election to the position. Challengers must file with the County Elections office in June for the $106,000 a year post.
Bauer cites newspaper announcements for public meetings on Hansville traffic issues as evidence of an "open" process in getting the bumps installed, but a thorough review of these notices reveals that few if any ever mentioned the specific term "speed bumps." Notices typically used terms like "traffic calming" or other euphemisms in an apparent attempt to quell potential opposition.
No county public hearing was held on the speed bumps, however county records show that the county mailed bulk-rate post cards the week of May 7, 2007 for a May 15, 2007, GHAAC meeting. Again, no mention of speed bumps was on the notice. Click here for related story.
Bauer refuses to engage constituents in discussions about the devices unless they meet his conditions. For those conditions, click here.
Installed last October at the urging of Bauer's Greater Hansville Area Advisory Council (GHAAC), the traffic devices expose Kitsap County to massive liability lawsuits resulting from delayed emergency response times. The GHAAC road committee was then and continues to be dominated by residents whose homes front the speed bumps.
Speed bump supporter and road committee co-chair Kathy Bourassa cited an unspecified traffic study in the Kingston Community News (February 2008) that asserts that on one May day last year "...404 cars were going 50 mph or more; 43 of those were going over 60 mpg and three over 70 mph" County records however, report a much different picture. Click here for the county's traffic study.
Commissioners Angel and Brown have been largely silent on the issues of the speed bumps, although Angel has disclosed that she's received numerous complaints about them.
It remains to be seen if they will take seriously the views of North Kitsap County residents who feel the speed bumps were an inappropriate response by Kitsap County to perceived speeding issues on collector and arterial roads. County policy recommends against speed tables for such roads.
If you’d like to make your voice heard, sign the petition by clicking here. Print it, sign it and mail the petition to our central collection address shown below. You don't need to have each of the ten signature spaces filled in before mailing it but we welcome your efforts to share the petition with Kitsap County friends and neighbors.
Mail petitions to:
John Wiegenstein
C/O Heller Wiegenstein PLLC
Law Offices
144 Railroad Avenue, Suite 210
Click on petition below for a full-size printable pdf version.
