Improvements to Washington Boulevard between NE 3rd Street and Central Avenue in Kingston are nearing completion, according to a recent Kitsap County Public Works press release.

The scope of the project included constructing pedestrian sidewalks from NE 1st Street to Central Avenue NE, upgrades to the existing pedestrian and bike path from 3rd Street to 1st Street and upgrading the stormwater collection system. The improvements also provide many new features that many motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians may not be familiar with, such as back-in angle parking.

According to the release, this parking design improves visibility by allowing drivers exiting the stall to have eye-to-eye contact with other bicyclists and vehicles, as well as allowing vehicle doors, when open, to direct passengers to the sidewalk and not the street. Additionally, cargo and trunks will be loaded on the sidewalk and not on the street to improve safety.

“One of the most common parking related accidents is people backing out of standard angle parking without being able to see oncoming traffic,” the release states.

Another feature added during the improvements was the green-colored bike lane, which is designed to increase safety by highlighting the path due to the biking direction of travel being the opposite of vehicular traffic in that area. The last addition to the downtown Kingston area is the new LED pedestrian lighting, designed to increase safety as well as being energy efficient and providing the downtown corridor with an aesthetic feel, according to the release.

KCPW considers the project mostly complete but the contractor still has some “ancillary work” to complete over the next few weeks.