It’s an inconvenient truth when it comes to traffic on Highway 305: The timing of the traffic light signal at the 305-Suquamish Way intersection is one of the biggest factors in our pervasive traffic snarls on Highway 305.
To be clear, it’s not the main culprit that’s driving our daily bumper-to-bumper mess for those on Highway 305 driving north across Bainbridge Island. The largest contributor of our motoring headaches are caused by the Bainbridge-Seattle ferry when it docks in Winslow and disgorges thousands of vehicles onto 305 every day of the year.
The bottleneck, though, is the traffic signal at Highway 305-Suquamish Way. That’s a reality realized by anyone traveling cross-island, and it’s been underscored by the times when the lights go dark and traffic is controlled at the intersection by police.
During those times — without the stoplight in operation — drivers heading north or south on 305 face a much shorter wait to get on or off the island. That’s been crystal clear during work on the Agate Pass Bridge, when officers directed traffic at the intersection last year, and more recently, during the turn-lane improvement project on the north side of the bridge.
Commuters, and local authorities as well, have eagerly acknowledged the improvement in traffic flow that’s occurring without the 305-Suquamish Way stoplight in operation.
The big problem is the timing of the light cycle. Currently, the light stays green for 75 seconds for traffic on 305, while it stays green for traffic from Suquamish turning south for 42 seconds between the hours of 6:20 a.m. to 9:20 a.m. and again from 6:30 p.m. to 4:30 a.m.
In a perfect world, the timing cycle for traffic coming from the casino and Suquamish Way would be even shorter, to reflect the relatively light traffic coming from those directions and to allow more of the traffic from the ferry, or travelers heading south, to pass through the intersection before the light changes. It makes no sense for the light to remain green for more than a half minute to allow just one or two cars to pass through.
Transportation officials say the timing cycle reflects the maximum times allowed, however. And if a gap is detected in traffic, the phase stops and it clicks to the next cycle.
Transportation experts note that new equipment planned at the intersection will lead to quicker light changes, as video sensing of approaching vehicles will be used to trip the lights rather than underground sensors. Even so, we believe that reducing the green light span for the limited number of vehicles coming from Suquamish is a critical step in improving the flow of traffic on the state highway.
