The Washington State transportation budget was approved with $500,000 earmarked for Kingston. Several years ago, stakeholders met to discuss a preferred alternative to having ferry traffic run through Main Street in downtown Kingston. Many local merchants complain that the ferry traffic blocks access to their businesses and tends to make locals avoid the area during peak ferry traffic. It was agreed that rerouting all ferry traffic to 1st Street, where currently the ferry traffic offloads, was the preferred alternative. Due to a lack of funds from any of the agencies involved, talks stalled.
With the new funding from the state budget, Commissioner Gelder has reconvened the key stakeholders to plan for the realignment. Representatives from Kitsap County Public Works, the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), the WSDOT Ferries division, State Patrol, the Kingston Chamber of Commerce, the Kingston Citizens Advisory Council and other interested Kingston interests were on hand for a meeting in June to revive the realignment effort. Stay tuned for new developments on this project!
