The Bainbridge Island City Council this week approved a proposal that outlines the next steps on spending from the Transportation Benefit District fund to support traffic calming projects.

In 2019, the council approved an additional $10 car-tab fee increase to support traffic calming, climate change and marketing of Kitsap Transit’s BI Ride service. The traffic calming and climate change mitigation program was on hold for most of 2020 due to a legal challenge to the voter-approved Initiative 976 that would have eliminated the city’s ability to collect car-tab fees. In October 2020, the state Supreme Court ruled Initiative 976 unconstitutional, which allows cities to continue collecting car-tab fees.

For Bainbridge Island, the fees provide $400,000 for annual pavement repairs and $200,000 per year in funding for traffic calming and climate change. The staff proposal that the council approved includes:

*The funding for neighborhood traffic calming is expected to grow to almost $500,000 by the end of 2023. The staff proposed spending $35,000 to support the following work:

-$15,000 for a BI-specific handbook for reference in the development of traffic calming projects;

-$10,000 for community engagement and a preliminary analysis of traffic calming options for Grow Avenue;

-$10,000 for a preliminary analysis of traffic calming and safety enhancements at the Grand Forest and Miller Road crossing, and Schel Chelb and Point White Drive crossing; and,

-Formal solicitation of traffic calming requests from the community for evaluation later this year.

*The funding for climate change mitigation was capped at $100,000. To date, those funds have been collected, and staff is recommending that action be postponed until completion of the Sustainable Transportation Plan.