PORT TOWNSEND — An effort to ease traffic glitches brought about by construction on Taylor Street by changing the traffic flow on Adams Street was abandoned after one day because of “near-miss” collisions.
Taylor Street runs one way toward the Port Townsend Bay while Adams Street, one block north, goes in the opposite direction.
For several months, the city had planned to turn Adams Street into a two-way thoroughfare for the duration of the construction, expected through May, to make it easier for motorists to cut over to Water Street from Washington Street.
On Feb. 20, the day Taylor Street construction began, the city placed temporary yellow divider tape on the street and covered the “Do Not Enter” sign at the corner of Adams and Washington streets.
The change confused motorists, and the Port Townsend Police Department requested that the street remain a one-way thoroughfare after several people almost ran into each other, public works Engineering Assistant Kara Rogers said.
The angled-in parking on Adams Street that is in line with westbound traffic also caused complications and confusion, Rogers said.
Motorists who once used Taylor Street to cross over from Washington Street to Water Street must use Quincy Street, two blocks north, to travel through.
After Taylor Street, there is no access from Washington Street to Water Street.
The Taylor Street renovation is the first of four phases of a nearly $2 million city of Port Townsend sidewalk replacement project that also will fortify hazardous unreinforced lids of tunnels to shops below Taylor’s street level.
Construction hours are from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays througsh Fridays.
Construction was planned after engineers determined that some sidewalks could collapse into empty areas underneath them.
The other three phases are across Taylor Street near the pier and two sections along Water Street.
City officials hope all the work will be done by June, in time for the tourist season.
During this time, the city is staying in close contact with merchants, setting up a blog that automatically sends email updates about the project’s schedule.
The project information blog can be found at www.sidewalktunnels.wordpress.com, while general information is available at Main Street’s site, www.ptmainstreet.org.
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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
