The speed limit on a portion of Bunker Creek Road that passes through Adna will stay at 20 miles per hour after a group of Adna residents spoke out against a motion to raise the limit.
The Lewis County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday morning voted unanimously not to adopt a new higher speed limit for a short stretch of Bunker Creek Road that passes through Adna.
The unanimous denial of the change came after a group of Adna residents — including the owners of Adna Floral, Tony Terwilliger, and Adna Grocery, Jim Smith — spoke during a public hearing on the issue.
Terwilliger also presented the board with a handwritten petition opposing the new speed limit. According to the Adna local, the petition included signatures from every Adna resident who lives along the impacted portion of Bunker Creek Road.
“That piece of paper I just sent you guys is 100% of the residents and property owners within that stretch are against it. Everybody,” Terwilliger said. “Nobody wants this speed increase.”
Six Adna residents in total commented on the proposed increase that would have raised the speed limit from 20 mph to 30 mph. While many of those testifying admitted that the current 20 mph speed limit is on the slow side, all opposed raising it by more than five miles per hour.
Those testifying against it expressed concerns for pedestrian safety. Large numbers of pedestrians cross the stretch of Bunker Creek Road at multiple points. Many local residents and students from Adna Middle and High School cross the street to Adna grocery not far from where the road splits from state Route 6 while others cross the road at the other end of town to access the Willapa Hills Trail.
“We have several small businesses along that line, the floral, the grocery store, the coffee stand, and people walk to those places, the kids coming out of school, going to the burger barn,” Adna resident Michelle Pardue said. “They have all kinds of traffic. It's not even just the kids.”
Smith said he would be OK with whatever decision the county commissioners made on the speed limit, but requested that the county add pedestrian safety features.
Smith specifically requested two crosswalks across the road: one near his store, Adna Grocery, and the other by the Willapa Hills Trail. He also suggested the county look into an electronic speed sign and consider extending the slower speed, whether it be 20 or 30 mph, further along Bunker Creek Road, which changes to a 50 mph zone just after the trail crossing.
“We have a lot of kids that when they get out of school, they cross that road,” Smith said. “Plus, we throw a couple of events out there, which it would hopefully help.”
A last-minute amendment to the proposed speed limit increase would have extended the 30 mph zone into the stretch of road Smith mentioned.
Lewis County Public Works Director Geoff Soderquist also said the county plans to add crosswalks to all Willapa Hills trails crossings, including the one in Adna, this summer. He added that public works would look into adding another crossing near Adna Grocery.
The county announced that it was seeking to raise the speed limit for roughly a mile stretch of Bunker Creek Road through Adna during a business meeting on Tuesday, March 3. At the time, county staff cited a request from the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office that the speed limit be raised.
Staff explained during the hearing this week that raising the speed limit would make speeding enforcement easier. According to a briefing from Lewis County Engineer Wes Anderson, some speed limits that are set too low are not legally enforceable and can be challenged in court.
“When speed limits are set lower than an engineering study can justify, enforcement citations may not be upheld in court,” Anderson said.
It appears that the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office has halted enforcement in the area because of this issue, much to the dismay of local residents.
Terwilliger testified to repeatedly asking the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office to better enforce the local speed limit over the past few years.
According to Anderson, speed limits are generally set using the 85% rule, which dictates the speed that 85% of drivers feel comfortable with. Speed limits can be set within five mph of the 85%. Speeding tickets issued for violating speed limits that are outside of that range may not hold up to legal scrutiny.
A traffic investigation conducted by Lewis County Public Works found that 85% of drivers headed through Adna drive at or under 33 mph, bringing the public works department to the conclusion that 30 miles per hour is the proper speed limit.
The Lewis County Board of Commissioners nonetheless ruled against the change, being unwilling to enact a change opposed by nearly the entire community it affects. During the hearing, Commissioner Sean Swope stated the county either needed to be comfortable not changing the local speed limit or do a better job of working with locals to explain why a change was necessary.
“It's very compelling to have that list of all the people that are being impacted by increasing the speed, and they're saying no,” Swope said.
The hearing concluded with a motion from Swope not to enact the speed limit change, which both his colleagues, Commissioners Lindsey Pollock and Scott Brummer, supported.
