The White Salmon City Council took up speed limits and parking issues during its April 15 meeting, and adopted ordinances that will affect certain areas in the city limits.
Police Chief Tracy Wyckoff recommended a speed increase on the streets surrounding Rheingarten Park from 15 miles per hour (mph) to 20 mph. The speed limit on NW Lincoln Street from its intersection with SW Garfield Street to El Camino Real would also increase to 20 mph from 15 mph.
The recommendations followed a municipal code review by the White Salmon-Bingen Police Department, which “discovered discrepancies between the code and the signs in certain places.”
For example, the code states that the speed limit on NW Washington Street at Rheingarten Park is signed for 20 mph, but is coded in ordinance at 15 mph, Wyckoff noted.
The City Council voted to approve the speed limit revisions in the code, but not before it discussed the pros and cons.
Councilor Kimberly Hoppus expressed concern about raising the speed limit around the park to 20 mph.
Councilor George Rau wondered how much traffic the street gets, and said that under the city’s Safe Streets initiative, the city needs to make sure speed limits are safe for pedestrians.
Wyckoff replied first to Hoppus, saying he feels that “if the speeds are consistent, people will better follow the limit rather than changing it up from 20 to 15 mph as they come along Lincoln from El Camino Real to Main.”
As to Rau’s question about traffic, Wyckoff advised that traffic is mostly in the morning and evening during commuting hours.
Rau, Jason Sabourin, Allan Wolf, and Bill Werst voted for the speed limit changes. Hoppus abstained.
The ordinance language reads as follows: “A speed limit shall be im-posed on operators of all vehicles of any nature, kind or description, including motorcycles, not to exceed [20] miles per hour on all perimeter streets surrounding Rheingarten Park, namely North Main Avenue on the east side thereof, NW Washington Street on the north side thereof, NW Garfield Street on the west side thereof, and NW Lincoln Street on the south side thereof.”
The other amendment states, “The speed limit on Lincoln Street shall be [20] miles per hour from Garfield Street west to the intersection with El Camino Real. From El Camino Real to SR 141 the speed limit shall be [25] miles per hour.”
The amended ordinance will take effect five days after its publication in The Enterprise on April 23.
On the matter of parking, Wyckoff pointed out that the City Council requested that the walled area on the north side of E. Jewett, between Wauna and Grandview, be designated as a no parking zone.
Wyckoff said the signs had been put up by the Public Works Department “but the [Standing, Stopping, and Parking] ordinance has not yet been changed to make it enforceable.”
Wyckoff also recommended the north side of NE Washington be-tween NE Estes and NE Church be designated a no parking zone.
In addition, he recommended an amendment that would designate parking along the west side of NE Church from NE Tohomish to the Alley along the Fire Hall for city vehicles only; all other vehicles would be prohibited.
Lastly, city staff proposed language that would prohibit parking on any city street for more than 72 hours. (The ordinance already prohibits parking on primary city routes between 2 and 6 a.m.)
Councilors discussed the proposed amendments in particular, and other language in the ordinance that could be updated in general at a later date, before approving the parking code changes 5-0.
The amended ordinance will become effective five days after publication in The Enterprise.
During the Committee Reports period of the meeting, Hoppus shared safety concerns that have been voiced to her by people who cross E Jewett in the vicinity of Hi School Pharmacy and NE Estes Avenue.
She asked when the next meeting with state Department of Transportation officials would be held, because she wants to raise the issue with them.
Clerk/Treasurer Leana Johnson advised the next meeting is set for April 29, primarily to discuss the State Route 141 connection between Bingen and White Salmon, and that Hoppus could raise her concerns then.
”I was pleased to hear we have another meeting at month’s end to follow-up on [WSDOT’s] promised improvements of additional pedestrian safety signage, downtown bulb-outs, back-in parking, etc.,” Hoppus told The Enterprise last Thursday. “I would like to be present at that meeting to emphasize how important and timely these improvements really area.”
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