Ferry lane grew, now will shrink

Published 6:19 pm Tuesday, February 3, 2009

In September, state work crews made two unpopular changes to Edmonds’ streets.

Soon, one of those changes will be reversed, an official with the state Department of Transportation said last week.

Crews will shrink the city’s ferry holding lane to its earlier size, said Mike Swires, a traffic engineer with the Department of Transportation.

Lane striping that extended the lane one-mile, from downtown to Westgate, will be removed as soon as weather and scheduling allows, he said. That could be months.

But the closure of Paradise Lane — a closure that angered residents so much that the pylons closing the street were vandalized, and protest banners were erected — is permanent, Swires said.

It cost $22,000 for the state to make the changes in September. Reversing them could cost a similar amount, he said.

The city supports both the removal of the ferry lane, and the preservation of the Paradise Lane closure, Mayor Gary Haakenson said.

While Haakenson said last year that slower traffic entering Paradise was a side effect of the closure, he now thinks it is a priority.

“Cars just barrel through there,” he said Jan. 29. “It is much safer to have (drivers) make a right turn.”

The closure forces drivers to take a right turn onto Paradise Lane off Edmonds Way as the larger road curves. Before the closure, drivers could drive straight off Edmonds Way onto Paradise.

The closure continues to anger Kurt Herzog, a resident who lives in the neighborhood, Herzog said. While the ferry lane reversal is good, Herzog said citizens who drive Paradise Lane regularly weren’t allowed to give input into the decisions.

“I think that because it is such a sharp turn and people have to slow down so much, this increases the chance of accidents,” he wrote in an e-mail to the Enterprise. “If they are really worried about speeding, then why not install a speed bump?”

During the busy summer months, the closed-off area protected by pylons will also be a good place for stage ferry pass ticketing, Haakenson said.

When the state announced the changes, a statement from the DOT said they would increase peak ferry-traffic capacity in the summer, decrease the number of blocked driveways on Edmonds Way and increase safety through the corridor.

Reporter Chris Fyall: 425-673-6525 or cfyall@heraldnet.com