The road surface on Southeast Evergreen Highway … is absolutely horrendous. The pavement is buckling and cracking and it appears not to have been worked on for years. I can’t believe that the people living on or just off this road haven’t complained to the city about getting it resurfaced. With all the recent road work done around the city in the past few months, you would think this stretch of road would be on the top of the list since it is so bad.
— Bill Craig, Ridgefield
People do complain, Bill — but others have told this reporter they believe pocked pavement and cracking concrete discourages speeding. If not for the difficult roadway, they’ve theorized, motorists looking to avoid state Highway 14 — and admire waterfront mansions while they’re at it — would just fly along the scenic straightaway. (Many already do).
Brian Carlson, Vancouver’s public works director, noted that crumbly roadway conditions are not a top priority for neighbors. “Draft plans and input from the Old Evergreen Highway and the East Old Evergreen Highway neighborhood associations have identified the neighborhoods’ priorities as providing a safe path for pedestrians and bicyclists, followed by general traffic safety issues, then roadway conditions,” he said in an e-mail.
So it’s in step with neighborhood wishes that a federal grant of $925,000 will provide a new roadside trail west of Ellsworth for pedestrians and bikes — not a rebuilt street surface for cars.
