A group of Icicle Road residents have come together to try and do something about the speeding on their roadway. In particular, they are concerned about speeding on the bridge over the Wenatchee River.
Icicle Road resident Mary Carol Nelson wanted to do something about it. She lives not far from the bridge and often walks or bikes across it.
“I talked to some neighbors, who were also concerned. I started going door to door. Everyone I approached agreed it was a huge concern. In November, we met. It was a consensus the bridge over the Wenatchee River lacked safety features to make it safe for the walkers and bikers,” Nelson said.
Because there is so much more traffic on Icicle Road, Nelson said the problem is only getting worse and worse. At their meetings, they invited Chelan County officials. In attendance have been Josh Patrick from the county public works, along with Chelan County Sheriff Sergeants Bruce Long and Mike Harris.
At that first meeting, Nelson said they brainstormed on what might be done on the bridge to reduce the speeding.
“For the bridge, wider aprons on all for approaches, railing needs to be higher, rumble strips, motions lights, a wider sidewalk on the south side, with a pedestrian crossing on either end,” Nelson said. “All of these things turned out to be pie-in-the-sky, but electronic speed signs can be effective.”
The county officials agreed that electronic speed signs would be good. They encouraged the group to find places to put the signs. Several people volunteered their driveways. In the following meetings, Nelson said they realized the best they could hope for is flashing speeds signs at either end of the bridge.
The type of speed signs being considered not only flash your current speed, but also “slow down” if you are going too fast and “thank you” if you are going the speed limit.
“The county agreed to maintain it if we raised the money for it. That is what we are doing. It’s $2,500 per sign. We want two signs. We have to buy the posts. We need a separate post at each end. Those signs will say something about shared roadway,” Nelson said.
The plan is to put the signs just before the beginning of the curves on either side of the bridge, so drivers slow down before the bridge not on it. Nelson said they would like to install the signs as soon as possible.
“It really is something that needs to be done. Bruce Long and Mike Harris have been really encouraging. There is a terrible amount of speeding on Icicle Road. The people that live there, it’s pretty incredible,” Nelson said.
The group is still raising money for the signs. To help out, you can donate to Icicle Road Concerned Citizens at Cashmere Valley Bank.
Ian Dunn can be reached at 548-5286 or editor@leavenworthecho.com.
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