| Beep Note: All the public records below are readily available from Kitsap County. They were obtained by beep4bumps after filing a public records request. It's important to note that we asked both County Commissioner Steve Bauer and committee Co-Chair Kathleen Bourassa for records and studies, etc. Both have ignored our requests. We'd like to say a special Thank You! to Kitsap County Public Records Officer, Elizabeth Watkins, for providing these records to us in a timely manner. As time permits, we'll be publishing as many of the records as we're able to. Stay tuned! Several key records are missing or just don't exist. We don't fault the public records office. We suspect that there was very weak governmental accountability, if any, in the process of building a case for the bumps. If Steve Bauer would be as frequent a writer of emails to us as former county commissioner, Chris Endresen, was to residents in the areas with the bumps in figuring out how to grant their wishes, we'd have less of a complaint with Bauer. Ms. Endresen's emails to Hood Canal Drive residents make us wonder if those residents are the only voters in Kitsap County. Then again, county records show that a lot of those now bumpy folks don't even claim Washingon state as their official residence, so we'd hope they're not voting here. We'll be focusing attention on what's not here as well as what is here. To name a few examples, we cannot find any actual meeting minutes (recording attendance, etc.) of the variously named traffic advisory committee or committees. No speed bump design specs were included in the documents. No evidence is contained in the records that Kitsap County held a public hearing on the speed bumps. And records show that the advisory meeting in May, which advocates for the bumps cite as evidence of community consensus, apparently had a meeting notice put in the mail to an undisclosed group of residents (no list shows up in the records) just two days prior to the meeting, effectively making it nearly impossible to attend for most receiving notice by mail. | |
Link to Public Record |
Description |
| Hood Canal Drive - Speeding Fact Sheet | These records show that the Kisap County Department of Public Works, in 2005, found speed bumps inappropriate for Hood Canal Drive and recommended that a reasonable speed limit would be 40 miles per hour. |
| Survey on the installation of speed bumps | This was the only thing we could find in the stack of records that showed any evidence that people were surveyed. If there are more records, they are not available publicly for your review. In this file, 15 were in favor, 14 against and six wanting other solutions, hardly the community consensus that the traffic safety committee told you about. |
| The Effects of Raising and Lowering Speed Limits Memo to Sgt. Mike Merrill from Steve Johnson on illegal 25 mph signs |
Here's the Washington State Deptartment of Transportation (WSDOT) report on speed limits and how they are determined. Linked also is a memo from Kitsap County Dept. of Public Works Steve Johnson to Sgt. Mike Merrill. |
| Steve Johnson's comments on traffic calming, Kitsap County Public Works | Here's a study that shows 11% of motorists going 35 or more on the 25 mph road while Public Works requires 25% or more to qualify for speed bumps. Says the report: "The road is a collector and it has been our policy not to put speed bumps on Collectors. Even if it was not classified as a Collector, it does not qualify because the speeds are not sufficient to warrant speed bumps." |
| Letter to Chris Endresen from traffic committee | Letter recommending quick action from the Commissioner to officially adopt the GHAAC recommendations stating, "It is necessary to secure funding for the project now... "otherwise, we are concerned that the project may get 'lost' or seriously delayed in the transition to a new commissioner." Contains a handwritten note to Jon Brad to "Please add to the network program." Beep Note: Can we beepers submit our wish lists, too, and you can just jam 'em through? How about that high school librarian? Or what about the potholes on MY road? |
| Notice for May meeting to discuss "traffic calming." | Here's the meeting notice that may or may not have been mailed to you to get your "input" at a traffic committee meeting. The county records contain no data on who this was actually mailed to. It's for the May 15th meeting, but records show it wasn't mailed until May 10th. If you got this, you might have gotten it just a day or two before the meeting. Do you see anything in this notice about speed bumps? We didn't either. The euphemism "traffic calming," used in this notice, is often used to keep unwitting area residents in a fog. It worked. We had no idea what that term meant until our calm little lives were altered by bumps in the road! We sincerely hope that the residents who pushed so hard for these calming devices are even more calm knowing that their neighbors give them thoughtful and audible warning when passing through. |
| Email from Endresen to Brand | Not convinced that the speed study report states that HCD shold be 35 mph, Chris Endresen recommends that Jon Brand meet with Cliffside residents. Beep Note: Do you suppose it was a catered affair? This must be the Commission's first class service. Nice! |
| Email from Michael Malan to Steve Johnson | An email from Michael Malan to Public Work's Steve Johnson. Beep Note: We don't know who Michael Malan is but we thought this was an interesting email. The records contain lots of emails. We want to provide them for you so you can connect the dots for yourself. |
| Kitsap Commission discussion of speed limit on Hood Canal Dr. | Discussion of the speed limit issue on Hood Canal Dr. |
| Email introducing Patricia Pinkham | Email introducing committee co-chair, Patricia Pinkham, to Commissioner Endresen. |
| Email from Michael Malan to Neal Kellner | People are "zoned out and just need a blinking reminder they are going over the speed limit." |
| Email to Endresen to Jon Brand | Discusses work improvement on Hood Canal Drive and the speeds appropriate for this road. |
| Email to Jeff Shea from Endresen | Email discussing "positive community support" and a note about being past the deadline for the resolution on the speed bumps. |
| June 6, 2006 June 27, 2006 July 14, 2006 Aug. 8, 2006 Aug. 29, 2006 Feb. 6, 2007 Mar. 6, 2007 Apr. 3, 2007 May 1, 2007 May 17, 2007 June 5, 2007 Aug. 7, 2007 Sept. 6, 2007 Oct. 2, 2007 Nov. 6, 2007 |
Road Safety Traffic Committee meeting minutes from June 5, 2006 to Nov. 6, 2007. |
