How should San Juan County prioritize Public Works projects?

When respondents were asked to explain the reasons for their priorities, these were some of the more telling anecdotes:

• Those in favor of separated trails believe it is the “safest option” offering distance and protection from “distracted drivers.” They also believe that widening the shoulders will only entice cars to drive faster and detract from the rural character of the roads. The idea of creating highways doesn’t add any real value to pedestrian and biker safety.

• Those in favor of widened shoulders believe that more can be accomplished by widening the road, rather than creating a new path. It's seen as the more financially viable option. Respondents also see the hurdles of property owners and limited right-of-ways as deterrents to separated paths. They also shared concerns of a greater environmental impact.

• Those in favor of neither widened shoulders nor separated paths believe in the importance of preserving trees and maintaining what we have. They express safety concerns regarding bikes in general and feel biking will never be safe in the islands. They also want to protect private property.

• Those who answered ‘other’ or were more abstract in their responses believe that a mixture of approaches is best and agreed that encouraging multi-modal travel is helpful to the environment and promotes safe transportation and better health.

Here you’ll see side-by-side comparisons of the routes people are taking to the shoulders they identified as needing improvements.

On San Juan Island, the graph on the left shows that respondents are traveling on Roche Harbor Rd the most, followed by Beaverton Valley Rd, San Juan Valley Rd and Cattle Point Rd. Coming in third is Douglas / Bailer Hill Rd.

The map on the right shows the roads identified as needing improvements – whether enhanced shoulders or separated trails. We see that San Juan Valley Rd and Bailer Hill Rd were the most requested roads, followed by West Side Rd, Beaverton Valley Rd, and Roche Harbor Rd.

On Orcas Island, the colors change slightly (less folks responded on Orcas) but we see a similar pattern of usage around major corridors.

The horseshoe highway is traveled the most – Orcas Rd, to Crescent Beach Rd, to Olga Rd. It’s also identified as needing the most improvements, followed by Crow Valley Rd.

Recreation, Open Space, and Stewardship Plan Maps

The data gathered from this survey reflects the data represented in maps from the ROSS Plan.

91% of respondents think County roads are average or better, and the majority think our roads are in “good” condition (49%). Only 1% think they are terrible and 7% think they are poor.