Residents press council on homelessness enforcement, salmon-restoration choices and traffic safety
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Summary
During two public-comment periods, residents urged alternatives to criminalizing people experiencing homelessness, debated Ennis Creek versus Valley Creek salmon-restoration options, and raised traffic-safety concerns about proposed roundabouts and downtown signal timing.
Several members of the public spoke during the meeting’s public-comment periods. Susie Blake, a Port Angeles resident, urged the council not to adopt enforcement measures that criminalize people living outdoors, saying local law enforcement and available shelter options make criminalization inappropriate for Port Angeles and recounting personal observations of threatening behavior near encampments.
Speakers also debated salmon-restoration approaches. Jamie Michelle, identified as habitat manager for the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, urged support for the Ennis Creek legislative priority, saying the Tribe has secured funding and would pass most construction dollars through to the city. John Worthington (online) and other commenters opposed the Ennis Creek option on technical grounds, arguing that its grade makes it unlikely to support Chinook and coho salmon and advocating Valley Creek as a better alternative.
Other commenters raised quality-of-life and infrastructure concerns: one resident urged the city to reconsider nine proposed roundabouts, arguing stop signs could be a cost-effective alternative in some locations; another called attention to downtown traffic signal synchronization and delivery-vehicle impacts on turning lanes.
A later commenter alleged a procedural violation related to the comprehensive plan and Washington Administrative Code; the speaker urged the council to revisit actions from prior meetings. The council did not take substantive action on these procedural allegations during the meeting.
