Poulsbo City Councilman Ed Stern said the “college town” concept for Viking Avenue will be discussed during revision of the city’s Comprehensive Plan.

As Poulsbo evolves to meet the needs of a growing and changing population, having a pipeline to higher education close to home will be a vital part of that evolution. Over the next 20 years, Kitsap County will grow by 80,438 residents, according to the Countywide Population and Housing Growth chapter of the county’s Comprehensive Plan. In our immediate area, Silverdale will grow by 5,779, Bainbridge 5,635 residents, Poulsbo 3,778, Kingston 2,932. Over that time, an estimated 3,106 current Poulsbo residents will turn college age – that doesn’t include the new residents to come in Poulsbo and in communities next door.

Olympic College Poulsbo, at College Marketplace, is poised not only to meet the higher-education needs of local residents, but to empower them in their career fields to meet the challenges this area will continue to have as it grows: How do we lessen our environmental impact as our communities grow? How can we enhance the health of our marine environment? How do we attract more businesses and create more jobs but do so in a “green” way? How do we enable people to move around our communities without relying on the car?

The demographic makeup of our community is changing, and Olympic College Poulsbo can be a center where new residents, and those whose first language may be from another country, can not only gain the language education they need to succeed but can feel embraced and part of the community.

A college and university is an important part of the circle of a dynamic community: Grow up here, earn a degree here, work here, and contribute here.

Stern believes south Viking Avenue, the former auto row, is in a good position to become an extension of the Olympic College community, with apartments and condos and businesses that would support off-campus student life. Think Poulsbo’s own University Village.

We agree.

Olympic College in Poulsbo — a 1.9-mile walk or drive from the corner of Viking Avenue and Finn Hill Road — is expanding, with four-year degrees in business, education, environment and human services offered through Western Washington University. WWU, which has branded itself locally as Western on the Peninsulas, also offers lectures and public presentations on various topics of public interest.

With more students will come the need for housing — and businesses and services to support a college population.

“Viking Avenue is a direct extension and access to College Marketplace,” Stern said in a Jan. 14 Herald story. “It’s the single best corridor for that kind of housing and for supporting a nightlife economy and businesses that support that life.” (South Viking Avenue already has a major movie theater, and is located a walkable distance to parks, the estuary, and historic sites.)

As long as there is a college in Poulsbo, the “College Town” concept would be able to weather changes in economic trends more easily than an area that is centered on a single industry. Auto malls may come and go, but the need for education will never go away.

The “College Town” concept could very well diversify the south Viking Avenue economy in a sustainable way, and in a way that fits into the character of the city.

We encourage the City Council to pursue study of the College Town concept for inclusion in the revised Comprehensive Plan.