News flash: Gig Harbor drivers don’t speed as much as everybody thinks
Griping about the speed of drivers on city streets is a perennial pastime on the Gig Harbor City Council, almost as traditional as the pledge of allegiance.
So council members were somewhat nonplussed to learn last Tuesday, after a council-ordered traffic study, that most drivers negotiated Harborview Drive, the city’s main drag, at the scorching speed of — 23 miles an hour.
“Have those instruments been calibrated?” asked Council Member Jim Franich, who lives on Harborview. “If I tell my neighbors that, they’re not going to believe it.”
City engineer Trend Ward said instruments set up on Harborview at Ancich Park logged the speed of passing vehicles 24 hours a day between July 20 and July 28.
The results were underwhelming: The average speed was 19.9 miles an hour. The speed at the 85th percentile — a benchmark Ward said is commonly used in the transportation industry — was 23 miles an hour. That is, Ward explained, 85 percent of drivers drove at that speed or slower.
That’s reassuring, Ward said, because the 85th percentile “reflects the collective judgment of the majority of drivers as to what is a safe speed.”
“There were some outliers,” he added,” riffling though the data sheets. “For instance, here on one particular day at 5 p.m., somebody apparently drove through there at between 55 and 60 miles an hour.“ On any given day, he said, “there were two to four vehicles that exceeded 35 miles an hour.”
The study was done at the request of Council Member Franich, who was unmollified.
“I’m looking out my window all the time, and boy, those numbers sound really low,” he said.
It may not be the last speed study done, however. Council Member Spencer Abersold said he has a list of streets in his neighborhood he’d like checked, too.
Sewer station will cost more
In other business, the council learned that the long-awaited replacement of an aging sewer pumping station is going to cost about $1 million more than anticipated.
Replacing Pump Station No. 6, near the intersection of Ryan Street and Cascade Avenue in the Soundview neighborhood, will cost a total of $2,469.265 after bids were opened, Ward said. That’s about $1.06 million over the original budget of $1.4 million.
The reason, said Ward, appears to be that contractors are worried about the COVID-19 pandemic, and are building that uncertainty into their bids.
“Contractors are building in risk management,” Ward said. “They don’t know if they’re going to be able to get materials, they don’t know if there are going to be further shutdowns that will lead to work stoppages, and so forth.”
Council Member Bob Himes wondered if the council shouldn’t just reject all bids and start over “when things cool off and common sense prevails.”
But Ward said, “This lift station has been needed to be replaced for well over 10 years now, and there is also a safety issue related to employee access. Basically, it is limping along, and there is a likelihood it will be even more expensive if we delay it.”
Added acting City Administrator Tony Piasecki, “It also increases the risk of a lift station failure, which could be very expensive.”
The council agreed to approve a contract with the lowest bidder, Gary Harper Construction, Inc. of Edmonds, at a cost of $1,872,574, another with HDR Engineering at $170,000 to extend its existing design services, and a third with Materials Testing & Consulting (MTC) at $16,194 for testing of materials. The council also approved an allowance of $150,000 for possible change orders. These costs are in addition to an existing $250,000 design contract with HDR.
In other business, the council:
▪ Approved a $1.15 million general obligation bond for the purpose of retiring some of the debt on the Civic Center. The city will use the money, together with $1.6 million in reserve funds, to buy back $2.645 million in outstanding bonds, said finance director Dave Rodenbach. Because of more favorable interest rates, the refinancing will save the city about $350,000 a year, he said. The new bond issue would be retired in 2026. The original bonds, issued in 2010, were for $7.73 million.
▪ Rejected both bids received for painting and repair of the Skansie Netshed. The budgeted amount was $135,000. One bid, from DP Wain Construction, was for $172,677. The other, from Long Painting, was for $250,289. The city plans to restructure the project to include re-roofing and minor structural repairs, and call for bids again in 2022.
▪ Recognized the achievement of Nevin Harrison, 19, an alumna of the Gig Harbor Canoe & Kayak Racing Team, in winning a gold medal in canoeing at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
This story was originally published August 12, 2021 at 5:30 AM.