You’re either a honey or a sweetie to Dorene Golie.

Tough grandmotherly love washes over those who walk up to her Dawg Haus Espresso and Deli stand, charm that has won her loyal customers since she put up her shingle at the Lynnwood park-and-ride lot last April.

But charm doesn’t pay the bills.

More than 10,000 people per day pass through that lot. So you’d think Golie would have as many customers as she has coffee beans.

But only 50 to 75 commuters a day order from Golie. Business is so bad, she says, that the Dawg Haus could be shuttered.

“It’s been a real tough go,” Golie said. “I’m not making ends meet. I don’t know what to say.”

Sound Transit has done everything it can to help Golie, even forgiving some rent money, said transit spokesman Lee Somerstein.

Somerstein said the transit system wants Golie to succeed because serving coffee to commuters spells good customer service for the agency.

Golie has guessed that the biggest reason for bad business is because it’s just too doggoned hard to see the Dawg Haus.

The Dawg Haus, a brick boxcarlike building, is at the north end of the park-and-ride lot. The serving window from which people retrieve their drinks and food is pointed away from the two circles where buses load and unload the potential customers.

Golie believes the problem could be fixed if windows were added to the wall facing the bus-loading area, and if she were allowed to put up better signs.

Even if those two things don’t happen, Golie has one last hope:

A ramp will open this week directing buses and carpool traffic to exit right into the park-and-ride lot and right by Golie’s window. Time will tell if that detour translates into dividends for Golie.

Mukilteo traffic turns

Question: The state Department of Transportation said in August that they would not remove the left-turn lane barrier into Carriage Club Estates from southbound Mukilteo Speedway because it was too risky and impractical for drivers to dart across two lanes of fast-moving traffic because traffic breaks are few and far between. They said more than 30,000 vehicles per day pass through there.

The speed limit on northbound Mukilteo Speedway at the entrance to Carriage Club Estates is 40 mph. A second entrance to the neighborhood is on northbound Highway 99. This left-turn lane also crosses two lanes of traffic that have a speed limit of 50 mph. The amount of traffic on Highway 99 far exceeds that on Mukilteo Speedway. To me, using Highway 99 is more risky than if the state would reopen the two-way left-turn lane into Carriage Club Estates on southbound Mukilteo Speedway. Could the Department of Transportation reconsider?

Jerry Hofferber, Everett

Answer: We are installing medians, limiting left-turn lanes and eliminating two-way left-turn lanes on the Mukilteo Speedway and similar highways throughout the state.

Anytime we build improvements on these types of busy highways, we are required to adhere to stricter safety standards.

To avoid turning left across two lanes of traffic on Highway 99, we recommend motorists driving south on the Mukilteo Speedway turn left onto Russell Way, right onto Highway 99, and right into the Carriage Club Estates.

Dongho Chang, Snohomish area traffic engineer

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