Recently, while slogging behind an RV for miles on the two-lane stretch of Highway 3 between Belfair and Shelton, the announcement by the Washington State Department of Transportation to lower the speed limit on stretches of Highway 305 came to mind. It seems that because people drive more slowly on those sections of the road, it makes sense to lower the limit to that speed.
This is backwards reasoning. Anyone who drives that roadway knows that people drive slowly mostly because they are forced to, not because it is their choice. This is because there is no passing lane to enable those wanting to go the speed limit to get around those who are not. Thus, people get stuck behind vehicles that have a hard time maintaining speed going uphill or are driven by folks who seem completely unaware they are averaging at least 10 miles per hour less than the posted speed.
When people are in that situation, especially when there is a time-dependent mode of transportation at the end known as the ferry, they get frustrated with those who cannot keep up the speed. If there are safety concerns because of speed, maybe it has more to do with the fact that drivers are losing patience and making bad decisions to pass the slow moving cars. When folks can get from point A to point B in a timely manner, they have no reason to take risks and the chances for an accident are reduced.
Of course, putting up new signs is a lot cheaper than doing the right thing, which is to widen the road with passing lanes at appropriate locations.
Still, it’s all in keeping with what has happened to Highway 305 over the years. Every traffic light that was removed from Highway 16 between Bremerton and Tacoma has found its way to Hwy 305 and then some. The expectation that people will choose 305 over driving through downtown Poulsbo is a pipe dream — at least until they make 305 behave like a highway and not an arterial.
Anyone who has had to drive 305 within the Poulsbo city limits knows that the only times the lights are somewhat timed to be green are during commute times. Even then, because so few people are able to use the HOV lanes, traffic gets backed up and no one moves easily. The advantage to downtown is fewer lights and more opportunities to move at the posted speed.
The way to make 305 more attractive is to make it so that people can move from Hwy 3 (both the north and south off-ramps) to the other end of the city without stopping at virtually every light. The constant impeding of forward movement is what makes drivers crazy. And, that leads to bad driving and increased likelihood of accidents.
But, probably the best and cheapest way to stop people from becoming frustrated with having no ability to drive highway speeds on 305 is to just finally acknowledge what exists: it is no longer a highway. In fact, 305 should be renamed; it should no longer be Highway 305. It should be the Ferry Terminal-College Marketplace Road (or Ferry-Marketplace Road).
There should be truth in advertising: no false hopes in thinking one gets between Poulsbo and Bainbridge easily. Making this change would not cost much more — just a few new road signs.
