Road opponents pitch one-lane plan one more time

Published 8:00 pm Saturday, February 10, 2001

“On Wednesday night, Larry Kwarsick, Island County Public Works director, told a gathering of more than 70 Glendale and other South Whidbey residents how his department has gone about planning the reconstruction of Glendale Road. We want to be open, we’ve tried to be open, he said to the crowd, which almost filled the South Whidbey High School Commons to capacity during a special Island County Commissioners’ hearing. But for the next two-and-a-half hours, Kwarsick, members of his department, and county commissioners heard over and over again that their constituents do not believe the county is listening to what they want Glendale Road to look like. The argument centered around the county’s plans to rebuild portions of Glendale Road that collapsed during a snow- and rainstorm four years ago. For the past two years, the engineering department and engineering contractors have been working on a plan that would reopen the road as a two-lane arterial.About $440,000 in construction work last summer and fall restored the lower portion of the road that runs through the Glendale village to a two-lane configuration. At the same time, contractors built a complex system of open culverts through the community designed to allow salmon to swim up Glendale Creek. It’s a system Glendale residents, South Whidbey sports fishermen, and local environmentalists endorsed without reservation. But now that the county is turning its attention to 500 feet of collapsed road on the upper section of the road, none of those people are playing cheerleader for Island County. Wednesday’s hearing, the fifth in a series that goes back almost two years, set commissioners and their constituents clearly at odds. Disagreements popped up just 10 minutes into the meeting as Dick Snyder, the assistant county engineer, described a 180-foot-long retaining wall that the county plans to use to shore up a portion of the collapsed road. Questioned by Glendale resident Mindy Thompson about how much native vegetation will have to be removed to build the wall, Snyder said the work will not disturb trees on the hillside on which the road is built, nor will it impact the creek flowing 50 below the roadbed. We’re only cutting down one tree, Snyder said. Thompson, a 25-year Glendale Road resident, did not believe him. I must live on a different road because something’s wrong, Thompson said. Thompson’s remarks drew applause and cheers from a crowd that was clearly against the county’s plan to reopen Glendale Road as a two-lane thoroughfare. During a half-hour open question period, those gathered made it clear they do not want the road restored to its previous configuration. Nature photographer Don Miller bore out that sentiment numerically later in the meeting when he called for a show of hands on the issue. About 20 hands shot into the air when Miller asked how many people supported a no-road option. Approximately 30 lent their support to a one-lane road. Only one person raised her hand in support of a two-lane road. Defending the county’s plan to reopen the road in some shape or form fell to South Whidbey Commissioner Mike Shelton. Shelton said the road must be reopened because one day it will be the only way out of Glendale. Portions of Humphrey Road, the only other road to Glendale, also collapsed four years ago. When the road slides again, he said, Glendale Road will be the only way out. If there is a major slide, Humphrey Road, which hugs a high bluff, could wind up in Puget Sound, Shelton said. We want to make sure that people on Glendale and Humphrey roads always have a way to drive to their homes. His comments did not sit well with most of the people in the room. Several of them asked how stable Glendale Road would be after it is repaired. Shelton said the county could offer no guarantees because that road is probably as unstable as Humphrey Road. The majority of the meeting was reserved for comments from eight people who signed up ahead of time to address the meeting from a podium at the head of the room. Among those commenting were Friends of Glendale member Lorinda Kay, former state Rep. Dave Anderson, state Fisheries Dept. biologist Jeff Fischer, former county commissioner candidate Tom Fisher, and orca whale activist Susan Berta. Among them, the speakers told the commissioners that the high traffic load that would undoubtedly come with a two-lane Glendale Road will promote more road sliding, and will place motorists at risk.Anderson, who owns the wetlands that form the headwaters of Glendale Creek, noted that Glendale Road is wet year round and icy during the winter. He said it will only be a matter of time before someone dies on the road when a speeding car careens 50 feet off the road embankment. Jeff Fischer, a salmonid habitat specialist who surveyed Glendale Creek for the Friends of Glendale, argued for a limited road project or a road closure. He said the Glendale Canyon is one of the finest small-scale salmon breeding spots in Western Washington. This is really a gem, he said. Traffic induced slides and vehicular sediment and petroleum runoff will take the shine off that gem. Any option that reduces traffic can only help breeding salmon. In the end, the commissioners were left with a clear choice, as delivered by Lorinda Kay, who sells advertising for The South Whidbey Record. She delivered a petition to the commissioners on which more than 500 people agreed that Glendale Road should be repaired as a gated, limited access road. While that would be ideal, Kay said, the Friends of Glendale are willing to compromise with the county on a single-lane, one-way road. She was also careful to comment positively on the work the county has already done in Glendale, and said she hopes the county will take public comment to heart this time around as it did last time. I applaud what you have done down in the village. You have made a heroic effort, she said. Although the county has a complete set of engineering plans for a two-lane reconstruction, the three commissioners indicated that they could change their minds. As he has stated for months, Shelton said his mind is open to several alternatives that promise to keep Glendale Road open one way or another. Commissioner Bill Thorn said his mind is open as well, but noted he still has a good deal to learn about the situation before he makes a final decision. Of the three commissioners, Mac McDowell was the least flexible. He said only that he will give the public comment some thought. The hearing could be the last concerning Glendale Road. When questioned about how he and his fellow commissioners will decide which way to go on the issue, Mike Shelton was clear that representative government will be at work. We’ll make that decision, he said. Work on Glendale Road is scheduled to begin after June 15. “