The reasons provided by the city for this project have varied -- originally it was stated that this project was to create a more pedestrian-friendly atmosphere downtown to bringing Heron and Wishkah Streets into compliance with state DOT regulations since they are part of state highway 101, but the city has not actively asked for business and resident input, nor has a traffic impact study been done to determine if businesses and local residents will be positively or negatively impacted by the lane reductions. I am asking that concerned Grays Harbor county residents request that the city and state perform a new traffic impact study before starting the project, and to also hold a well advertised (local radio, newspaper, and social media ads) town hall meeting to specifically discuss this project with our community.
Revised on 7/24/2015 at 12:57 PM - Additional information about traffic study:
A traffic study was done in 2000, and as written in an article by Kyle Mittan of the Daily World, "The study provided data on traffic patterns in the area, and also considered the idea to reduce the lanes from three to two, Scott added. Those changes were abandoned." (
http://thedailyworld.com/news/local/council-approves-lane-revisions-wishkah-heron)
The traffic study is outdated and a new one should be done before the project moves forward.
