We've been down this (Towne) Road before
Eight years show little change in public sentiment
This fall wasn't the first time County Commissioners have sought public opinion on the fate of Towne Road: a public meeting and three-week comment period were conducted in the spring of 2015.
Eight years ago, the survey asked if residents wanted Towne Road to remain open to through traffic, or if they preferred dead-ending the southern segment in a cul-de-sac just north of the Dungeness Valley Creamery. Sixty-one responses were received and the vast majority, 51, preferred a through route while only 10 preferred the cul-de-sac option.
Respondents were also asked to check a box indicating whether they use Towne Road as access to the levee for recreation. Over 1/3 of respondents indicated that they did. Similar to petitions submitted this year, in 2015 those advocating for road closure predominantly lived in a neighborhood on Towne Road that would see a drastic reduction in traffic (Forrest Ridge, Madrona Terrace, and nearby side streets). Support for keeping Towne Road open was reflected in a diverse cross section of County neighborhoods — this is also the case when reviewing the “open Towne Road” signatures gathered this year.
Over the past eight years little change is seen between those who support a vital link between communities, and those who advocate for redirecting traffic away from their neighborhood.
Written comments have also remained consistent over the past eight years. Regarding safety, in 2015 residents raised concerns about fleeing during an emergency: those north of Towne Road desired evacuation routes during flooding and tsunami events while residents on the ridge south of the closure mentioned egress northward during a wildfire. Several comments mentioned fire, police, and medical response times could increase if the road were closed.
Many people in 2015 worried about the economic impact closing a rural road would have on our small, local farms such as the Dungeness Valley Creamery and Nash’s Organic Produce. “I think that denying the Creamery through access would impact this unique and wonderful family business negatively,” reads one comment. “The Creamery would face the biggest impact if the road was to be a cul-de-sac, they are a destination because they are unique,” reads another.
In 2015 Patty McManus Huber, married to Nash Huber and representative of Nash’s Organic Produce, wrote that she both used Towne Road as a through route and also accessed the levee for recreation. “We don’t want to take large, slow ag equipment on Woodcock Rd and S-D Way to protect our employees and public,” she commented. Huber indicated her desire that Towne Road remain connected to Sequim-Dungeness Way and wrote, “Our farm uses it every day, especially in the summer and fall to move between fields. Some of our equipment is 16 feet wide.”
Ryan McCarthy, owner of Dungeness Valley Creamery, submitted a three page letter in support of keeping Towne Road open. “There is less cost associated [with] delivery and distribution where we have the factor of wear and tear on vehicles, insurance, wages, fuel, and other miscellaneous expenses,” he said. “This leads to higher margins for these particular sales, which we rely on for our operations and success of our business.”
McCarthy worried that dead-ending the road may block access to hundreds, if not thousands, of existing and potential dairy customers who wouldn’t be willing to detour 4-5 miles. Closing the road would limit the community's visibility to the business which was experiencing growth at the time. “I feel that the agri-tourism aspect of our business and close proximity to neighboring farms has been a large part of our continued success and is one of the pillars our business is built on,” wrote McCarthy. "We have a known brand and product, which is often associated with an experience of seeing or visiting the farm, even if it’s just passing by on occasion, or a regular basis.”
The Creamery’s owner closed with a concern shared by other residents: a dead end street and cul-de-sac so close to his farm and home could attract the drug activity, theft, partying, and illegal dumping that had been an increasing nuisance. “If trails are desired, I feel it would be better for not only myself, but public safety in general, to move the ‘recreational parking and walking trail access’ to the main highway [Sequim-Dungeness Way] where local law enforcement officials could easily check on the site in the evenings, not a mile down a dead end road.”
In 2015, the County also received a letter from a third landowner with farmland on Towne Road. Derrick Eberle is against reopening Towne Road to through traffic (see link to his interview with Sequim Gazette below) and has asserted himself as the spokesperson, both online and at the public meeting, for the two farms on Towne Road. Eberle’s stance since 2015 has not changed, but his motives have.
Eberle recently has become vocal about protecting the levee as a trail system to appreciate peaceful views of nature, farmland and wildlife and he is currently petitioning for this outcome. However, eight years ago, he cited illegal dumping, drugs, and other illicit activity for keeping Towne Road closed. His property’s access was, and remains, the lone driveway branching off the new segment.
Concerning access to his farm, “Our family would need vehicular access to Sequim-Dungeness/Anderson Road, since we have property along that road that we need to access on a regular basis.” Regarding others having access to a public county road, “We do not want public access on the setback levee if it borders our property still.” As for recreational opportunity, Eberle wanted trail access limited to the old dike along the river, not the new levee.
Eight years ago, Eberle expressed concerns about privacy, traffic, and that "the public will wander off the road into our active farming operation.” He reasoned, "There is dangerous equipment and land configurations that are a part of the farming process that the general public is not aware of. We are concerned about the safety of the general public as well as the liability of our family.” It seems Derrick Eberle was able to reconcile those concerns when he and his wife opened their farm as a 300-guest wedding venue with a website and business license that is still active today. [Update: The website was recently deactivated.]
While Eberle has been the most vocal advocate for closing the county road that borders his property, public records indicate he currently receives mail at a residence in Tacoma.
The results of this October’s public comment period are not yet available but the signatures submitted earlier this year, which showed 122 names supporting the road’s reopening vs. 98 calling for its permanent closure, are consistent with the 2015 survey: a majority of the community continues to want Towne Road open to through access.
If the 2015 survey’s intent was to discover issues that could be addressed over the following eight years, the County didn’t. Tsunami evacuation route designation and EMS response times were prevalent issues in those 2015 surveys but County leaders only began pursuing those concerns this month and findings aren’t expected until early next year.
The County has succeeded in setting an important precedent: if residents desire that their neighborhood benefit from reduced traffic, Commissioners will entertain changing a through, public, county road into a dead end — all someone needs is the “upswelling of support” from gathering 98 signatures. Impacts on the safety, wellbeing, and convenience of the surrounding community are secondary.
Clallam County no longer governs purely by fair representation, policy, and common sense… it now governs by petition.
Article with interview from Farmer whose driveway bisects levee segment: