The problems with Adams Street, while seemingly simple, have revealed to the city deficiencies in the process to select streets for closure.
After a 4 to 2 vote of the Port Townsend City Council at its regular meeting Jan. 21, the street will remain closed until a full public process can be held to consider the street for permanent closure.
Adams street has proved controversial since it was closed without public input last year during the completion of the Jefferson Street sidewalk project, which included the installation of a sidewalk and street parking from the corner of Jefferson and Washington up the hill to the top of the Haller Fountain stairs.
Public Works Director Dave Peterson said the street was initially closed to be a staging area for equipment during construction on Jefferson Street but was never reopened after the contractor was instructed to remove asphalt from the corners.
“We recognize there were deficiencies in this process along the way,” he said.
The issue last appeared before City Council in December where they directed public works staff to return with more options for the street and a further breakdown of costs.
The options considered included doing the minimal amount of work necessary to make the street safe for vehicular traffic, making it into a pedestrian path or adding shoulder parking.
The Adams Street closure has prompted the council’s transportation committee to begin to codify a process for selecting streets for closure including public input. Adams Street will remain closed until that process is completed and a consensus is reached on whether or not to close the street.
This was the compromise option for several council members after Deputy Mayor David Faber expressed his concerns about any money being spent on the street if it would eventually be closed.
“I can’t see why we would want to spend these limited funds on a portion of street that doesn’t meet a need and is effectively superfluous,” he said.
Other options considered were to spend $3,000 to either close the street permanently and add barriers and some shrubbery or temporary asphalt to reopen the street.
Potential funding sources were the $100,000 city street fund or remaining funds from the Jefferson Street project bond.
Public Works Director Dave Peterson said there is between $80,000 and $100,000 left available from that fund. Other projects for which those funds are being considered are upgrades to some library windows and the repair to the unsafe transition from the sidewalk to the top of the Haller Fountain stairs.
Mayor Michelle Sandoval, who voted against the motion, and was instead in favor of reopening the street with temporary asphalt, said she didn’t see the cost as “extra” and taking away from other city issues but she sees it instead as the final component of the Jefferson Street project.
She also noted that there is a lot of contention and rumor in the city surrounding the street, making it even more important that an open process to close the street is completed.
“I have been very unhappy about this process, or lack thereof,” she said. “I think that the comment I have heard the most from the public is that this is not the worst street. People are traveling on streets in much worse condition than this, and to call this street dangerous and have it be closed down is a slap in the face to them.”
The Transportation Committee will consider criteria for street closure such as condition, designation, neighborhood, environmental impacts or benefits, traffic volume, impacts on other streets and access to residences.
The public comment session for the new street closure process is scheduled for the Feb. 19 Transportation Committee meeting.
