Clark County Public Works staff have proposed changes to speed limits and parking on more than a dozen county roads. The changes were presented at a work session on Wednesday to the county council, which will have the final say in coming weeks.
“The recommendation we are about to make is primarily motivated by safety and operational issues,” Ejaz Khan, a county traffic engineer, said at the work session.
Khan told the council that the proposed changes were based on feedback from neighborhood associations and residents, as well as input from the sheriff’s office and observations from staff. Other changes are for housekeeping purposes and intended to make county regulations and existing signage consistent, he said.
The council will consider the changes to parking at its March 28 hearing, and changes to speed limits in later weeks. Here are some of the changes being considered:
• Where: N.E. 15th Avenue between N.E. 88th Street and N.E. 94th Street.
Proposed change: Add 65 parking spaces on the street.
Reason why: Khan said there is no county record explaining the “No Parking” signs on the street. He said residents have complained about the lack of parking. “These parking restrictions make absolutely no sense,” he said.
• Where: N.E. 94th Street between N.E. 15th Avenue and N.E. 20th Place.
Proposed change: Remove parking on north side of street and partially on the south side.
Reason why: Khan said that drivers are unable to pass each other when cars are parked on the street.
• Where: N.E. 17th Avenue between N.E. 63rd Street and N.E. 65th Street.
Proposed change: Remove parking on the west side of the street.
Reason why: Residents have complained about cars parked in pedestrian walkways.
• Where: N.E. 17th Avenue between N.E. 68th Street and N.E. 70th Street.
Proposed change: Remove parking on the inside of curves of the street.
Reason why: The sheriff’s office has complained that parked cars impair visibility and prevent service vehicles, such as school buses, from getting through.
• Where: N.E. 68th Street east of St. John’s Road.
Proposed change: Formalize parking restrictions on the north side of the street.
Reason why: There are “No Parking” signs already on the street but there are no county regulations formalizing the restrictions.
• Where: N.E. 47th Street between N.E. 56th Avenue and N.E. 60th Avenue.
Proposed change: Remove parking on north side of the street.
Reason why: The road is already so narrow that people technically aren’t supposed to park there, but they do anyway, causing safety issues.
• Where: N.W. 21st Avenue between N.W. 94th Street and N.W. 99th Street.
Proposed change: Reduce current speed from 35 mph to 30 mph.
Reason why: It’s in a residential area near a school.
• Where: N.W. 21st Avenue and N.W. Fruit Valley Road between N.W. 94th Street and N.W. Lakeshore Avenue.
Proposed change: Reduce speed limit from 35 mph to 25 mph.
Reason why: It’s in a residential area near a school and the road curves, which staff said necessitates a reduction in the speed limit. However, councilors questioned if it made sense to lower it to 25 mph.
• Where: Connected stretches of N.E. Corbin Road, N.E. 39th Avenue and N.E. 131st Street between N.E. Salmon Creek Avenue and N.E. 50th Avenue.
Proposed change: Reduce speed limit from 35 mph to 30 mph.
Reason why: Khan said the road isn’t designed for the increased traffic caused by development and drivers are using it to access Interstate 5.
• Where: N.E. 88th Street between N.E. Andresen Road and N.E. 94th Avenue.
Proposed change: Reduce speed from 40 mph to 35 mph.
Reason why: Khan said that 40 mph is too high for an unimproved collector street designed to move traffic from local streets to arterial roads.
• Where: N.E. 162nd Avenue between N.E. Ward Road and N.E. 99th Street.
Proposed change: Increase speed limit from 25 mph to 30 mph.
Reason why: A high percentage of drivers violate the existing speed limit.
• Where: N.E. 124th Avenue between N.E. 76th Street and Vancouver city limits.
Proposed change: Reduce speed limit from 30 mph to 25 mph.
Reason why: It’s in a residential area.
• Where: N.E. 119th Street between N.E. 72nd Avenue and a half-mile west.
Proposed change: Reduce speed limit from 40 mph to 35 mph.
Reason why: To make the speed limit consistent with other stretches of 119th Street.
