Liability

Dear Editor:

I don't know who was responsible for the engineering and creation of the Kearny St. roundabout, as it is now I have to ask if any thought was given to safe passage of pedestrians and bicycles. 

If so, were their lives considered less important than traffic flow. I stopped and looked at the layout yesterday before turning left from Kearny to Sims way toward DownTown on a bicycle. 

In almost 30 years of doing that at the stoplight I didn't feel my life was in danger, now I don't see any way to do it. The two crosswalks that have been painted are way too close to the intersection to be safe for pedestrians, drivers in the roundabout are giving their attention to other cars and until they have steered out onto the new road they are not looking ahead. 

Also, if they do stop for a pedestrian while in or near the circle, they stop traffic flow and risk being hit.  

I know it is not finished but I feel at this point the lack of safety is unacceptable and perhaps a liability.

Willy Stark

Indefatigable

Dear Editor:

On or around Dec 16/17 2023 a loyal member of the NWMC passed away alone on his boat. He was an employee/volunteer for the Wooden Boat Foundation and the NWMC from around 2008 to 2023.

His name was John Hazen and he was a coworker and friend of mine, we lived in the same marina, worked at the same place and he was my personal navigator of all things marine hardware in the beginning. He had the heart of a Hawaiian, it’s where he grew up, and was the gentlest of souls. He was an extraordinary sailor, having sailed his 20-foot Flicka from Kaneohe, Hawaii to Fiji and back with a 1945 Japanese sextant for navigation and then from Kaneohe to the Straits of San Juan de Fuca and Seattle. He was indefatigable, riding his bike and circumnavigating New Zealand, both islands and riding from PT to Calgary and then to Banff in consecutive years. He deserves to be honored by the folks who benefited from his devotion and remembered as a true waterman of the Pacific.

RIP John.

Peace and Fair Winds,

Christine Dewees

Fairweigh-in

Dear Editor:

I want to congratulate and thank all those involved in building a better future for the golf course. The difficult step of teeing up a contract has been completed.  The first drive came close to the rough, but is still in the fairway. 

There is one issue of concern that was not well explored.  The contract includes a requirement that the golf course eventually incorporate both an east-west trail and a north-south trail. As one of the people who built miles of the trails in town, it was very gratifying to have so many showing their desire for more of them.  I also would like to see more trails in places currently lacking them.  But within the golf course, I question both the need and sense of the trail requirement.

A new N-S trail could possibly be safely worked into the course, but doesn’t seem necessary. Adjacent to the west boundary are the well-used sidewalk and bike lanes of San Juan Avenue.  And within 100 feet of the east boundary, there exists a well-used N-S trail which, along with the low-traffic section within the Redwood Street right-of-way, is excellent and relatively safe N-S access. If a sidewalk were built along the section of Redwood St. now open to cars, there would be a complete safe non-motorized access on the east side of the golf course.

There are currently sidewalks and bike lanes that run E-W on both ends of the long direction of the golf course: F and 19th Streets. Public access across the middle of the course from E-W would be handy for a few. But since it would be perpendicular to several fairways, it would be very difficult to make safe.  Considering it is not essential, this requirement is just plain a bad idea.

I’m hoping that as time goes by the requirement for public trails within the golf course will be understood as an unworkable amenity.  If it doesn’t, I’m happy to help lay them out.  Meanwhile, let’s develop more trails where they are really needed.   

Scott G. Walker