KINGSTON — Upcoming passenger-only ferry service and ongoing road improvement projects were among the topics of the evening at a transportation forum moderated by County Commissioner Rob Gelder, Oct. 25 at Village Green Community Center.

On hand to answer questions were representatives of the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office, Washington State Patrol, Kitsap County Public Works, Port of Kingston, Kitsap Transit, Washington State Ferries, and the state Department of Transportation.

The event served mostly as a Q&A-style forum, with many residents inquiring about how Kingston will keep up with a rapidly changing region.

Kitsap Transit executive director John Clauson, who is also a Port Orchard City Council member, admitted that Kingston could be better served by the transit system.

“The routes that we’re operating today are the same routes that we’ve been operating for over the last 30 years, with a few minor changes,” Clauson said. “The only thing I can guarantee you is that in the last 30 years, Kitsap County has changed, and we haven’t.”

Clauson said Kitsap Transit plans to start passenger-only ferry service between downtown Seattle and Kingston by summer 2018, one of a series of ferries funded by a voter-approved sales tax. One ferry is already in service, on the Bremerton-Seattle route.

Clauson said Kitsap Transit is engaged in the purchase of a used, 350-passenger ferry for the Kingston-Seattle route.

With a ferry also comes the potential for increased parking needs. Clauson proposed park and ride service at two locations: Bayside Community Church and another near Albertson in Kingston. Clauson suggested that Kitsap Transit could consider developing a property at the corner of Bond Road and State Route 104.

Another area of discussion were possible remedies for traffic backups along Highway 104, resulting from Washington state ferry wait times.

One resident, Jill Reynolds, voiced her concern about Kingston’s ferry traffic while suggesting a possible resolution.

“I moved from Bainbridge because of the absolute traffic hell that occurs on 305 all day now and all night,” Reynolds said. “It seems to me that the way to save money and time is to do this with reservations.”

Steve Roark, assistant regional administrator with the state Department of Transportation, addressed some possible remedies that are being discussed by the department.

“The notion here is staging traffic out of town, out of town meaning right there at Lindvog.” Roark said, proposing a parking garage-style ticketing system.

“The light at Lindvog could be reconfigured to flush through a certain number of cars at a time to make their way down through town, purchase their ticket at the ferry booth and get into the holding areas.” Roark explained. “In essence, it’s holding traffic out of town through a somewhat automated system.”

As members of the public began addressing the panel, it quickly became clear that a going concern is an existing three-way intersection at Parcells Road, 104 and Barber Cut Off Road. Multiple audience members regarded the intersection as extremely hazardous and asked Roark what WSDOT planned to do about. The answer: not a lot.

“We’re aware of Barber Cut Off. We actually did some looking into accident history there,” Roark said. “This doesn’t sound good, but the reality is our money is going toward intersections that have bigger problems than that intersection.”

He added, “It’s a harsh reality. The Legislature tells us what projects to build. We do not have a great deal of discretionary money to spend in other areas.”

Commissioner Gelder concluded the forum by suggesting that the evening’s discussion was simply the first of many more to come in the days ahead.

“Obviously, we know that the issues that we’re talking about are complex,” Gelder said. “We do need to have your help in helping us think outside of the box.”

— Nick Twietmeyer is a reporter for Kitsap News Group. Contact him at ntwietmeyer@soundpublishing.com.