San Juan County Public Works has been awarded a $760,000 grant by Washington State Department of Transportation which will be used to provide safe parking for Orcas Island ferry users.
The funds will go toward designing and constructing a park-and-ride facility; the first of its kind for San Juan County. An overwhelming need exists to eliminate the unsafe parking along Orcas Road that has historically occurred. As a remedy for the problem, a plan for a park-and-ride at this Washington State Ferries owned location, has been in the works for several years.
The intent of the project is to create an 80-100 stall parking area with reliable short and long-term parking solutions. In addition to providing safer and longer duration parking, the new Orcas Village Park-and-Ride will:
• Discourage single occupancy vehicle ridership on the ferries and freeways
• Improve traffic circulation in Orcas Village
• Expand handicapped parking in the current 72 hour parking area at the ferry terminal
• Preserve the natural beauty of Orcas Village
• Accommodate electric vehicle charging needs
This Spring, utilizing the public process, SJCPW expects to incorporate citizen input into the design. The public process will include an online survey polling platform; another first for SJCPW.
To participate in the survey, please follow the link:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/SZHLP3M
The design of the park-and-ride will be performed by Public Works staff and aims to use innovative, context sensitive design principles. SJCPW aspires to have the park-and-ride open for use in the spring of 2017.
