Bikes get breathing room on South Kingston Road

Published 5:48 pm Tuesday, September 23, 2008

KINGSTON — South Kingston Road is known to local bicyclists as a stretch of blind turns and too-close-for-comfort ditches bordering the fog-lines.

The road, which links Indianola Road to Jefferson Beach Road, is undergoing re-paving, gaining an addition of shoulders for the safety of bicyclists and pedestrians.

According to Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office, since 2000 there were 14 reported accidents that occurred on the road. Although most of the accidents were single-vehicle crashes into the side ditches, there was also a hit-and-run of a pedestrian July 2007, said KCSO spokesman Scott Wilson. Washington State Patrol Trooper Krista Hedstrom said WSP also handled a hit-and-run of a pedestrian in July 2008.

“In this case the improvements are helpful. It makes less-experienced bicyclists feel more comfortable when they have a little extra room,” said Indianola resident Jay Zischke.

Zischke, who commutes to work on his bicycle, said he often takes the road back home when he’s looking for a longer loop to ride. His kids also ride their bikes to school and occasionally using that stretch of road, he said.

Before the improvements started, Zischke said the road was fairly comfortable to ride as an experienced, avid cyclist; however, for children and those more wary of sharing the road, shoulders create a sense of security.

“What’s enjoyable is its rural nature. It’s windy enough that vehicles don’t travel so fast but the shoulders create an added safety feature for that stretch of road,” he said.

Doug Bear, roads spokesperson for Kitsap County Public Works, said about $100,000 is stored annually in bicycle and pedestrian capital improvement funding in the annual Transportation Improvement Program (TIP).

Bear said he is uncertain how much it will cost from the total funding to add paved shoulders on South Kingston but did mention heightened asphalt prices will play a large factor.

Bill Zupancic, county planner specializing in non-motorized transportation said the county is required to spend a half-percent of gas tax — he estimated it’s about $25,000 annually — for bicyclists and pedestrians paths.

“We don’t have enough tax base in the county for all our roads but we are trying,” Zupancic said.

South Kingston Road was a high priority due to its involvement in the Bicycles Facilities Plan and the Mosquito Fleet Trail Plan, he said.

The Bicycle Facilities Plan was formed by the county and public works in 2000 with guidance from the Open Space and Greenways plans, to strengthen non-motorized transportation over the next 20 years. The end goal: to make bicycling a “viable, safe, attractive alternative form of transportation,” the plan states.

Zupancic said South Kingston is also the secondary route for the Mosquito Fleet Trail plan, which starts in Southworth connecting 17 communities and 24 historic docks that belonged to the historic fleet more than 150 years ago. The Mosquito Fleet boasted more than 40 ports along the county’s 228 miles of Puget Sound shoreline, according to www.kitsapgov.com/mosquito.

Besides the Mosquito Fleet Trail, Zupancic said the planned trails at White Horse Development and Heritage Park also pushed the road paving up in priority.

“South Kingston Road is an integral piece of this trail network, which is why its such a strong candidate,” he said. “There is a very strong activist bicyling group in Indianola. It’s been real strong for a long time and they’ve helped push for this.”

According to the Uniformed Bicycling Code, bicycles are allowed to travel within the vehicle travel lane.

“By providing paved shoulders a minimum of four foot — they’re five foot out there — just made bicylists really happy,” Zupancic said. “Shoulders are the easiest, most economical, best way to increase safety for both bicyclists and pedestrians.”