But long-term plans for SR-305 don’t include more lanes on Bainbridge.

The dots are in place.

Now, for the sake of commuters facing ever-longer journeys on State Route 305, planners will begin looking for ways to connect them.

“This gave us some milestones to look for,” said Mayor Darlene Kordonowy, a member of an executive steering committee that guided the study of long-range transit options on SR 305. “It laid out a process and plan for us based on thresholds we might see in the future.”

A new bike, pedestrian and transit bridge over Agate Passage, as well as several transit options – among them Bus Rapid Transit and LEVX, an emerging fixed guideway technology – remain on the table at the end of the 18-month SR 305 Corridor Vision study.

Completed this month, the study can be viewed at www.kitsaptransit.com, under the “planning” link. It will remain in the public review phase until Aug. 24, at which time planners hope to embark on the next phase of the project.

Because the study focuses on strategies for the next 50 years, tangible changes associated with it likely wouldn’t come for several years, according to Kitsap Transit Capital Director Wendy Clark-Getzin.

The study was undertaken jointly by local governments – including the City of Bainbridge Island – the Suquamish Tribe and transit agencies, and funded by a federal grant and matching funds from Kitsap Transit.

Its goal was to identify strategies to accommodate rapidly increasing traffic flows betweeen the Bainbridge ferry terminal and Poulsbo.

The heaviest traffic growth between now and 2030 is expected on the northbound, rush-hour commute between High School Road and Poulsbo.

Along with traffic projections, planners crafted the vision around ferry ridership projections, which are expected to rise sharply, and the assumption that passenger-only ferry service will be developed at some point in the future.

Public input also was incorporated throughout the study, which kicked off in January of 2006.

User input from Bainbridge emphasized the need for better transit, bicycle and pedestrian access along the length of 305, better connectivity to surface streets and strong coordination with other long-term planning efforts already underway.

Most islanders opposed widening the highway, while stressing the importance of sustainable design.

Though there was opposition to a new vehicle bridge across Agate Passage, a pedestrian, bicycle and transit bridge was widely favored.

In all, the study proposes four new or expanded park and rides between the ferry terminal and College Marketplace in Poulsbo, including one with 580 stalls at Day Road.

The recommended short-term transit solution is Bus Rapid Transit, which would provide frequent service on buses utilizing reversible, transit-only lanes.

The advantage to BRT is that it could be implemented fairly quickly, and the transit lanes could eventually accommodate the infrastructure needed for more expansive transit options, like LEVX, which is still a nascent technology.

Environmental review will follow the public review period, though further work is contingent on $360,000 in federal funding for which Kitsap Transit plans to apply, Clark-Getzin said.