Planning Commission recommends Islandwide Mobility Plan, adds safety lighting and roadside maintenance directives

The Bainbridge Island Planning Commission unanimously recommended the Islandwide Mobility Plan and corresponding updates to the Transportation Element on March 26, after a staff presentation and public comment.

Hannah Boettcher, the city’s sustainable transportation coordinator, summarized outreach and revisions to the plan, saying the engagement began in December 2024 and that Appendix B logs comments and staff responses (that appendix will be updated). She told commissioners the plan integrates previous transportation efforts, adds evacuation‑route mapping and Winslow sub‑area detail, and aligns trail mapping with the Parks District’s recently adopted trails vision. “That log has not been updated since about March 2025,” Boettcher said, noting staff will complete outstanding updates.

Commissioners questioned whether the plan prescribes specific designs or serves as a decision framework. Public Works Director Chris responded that the plan establishes a framework and that the City Council retains final design and funding choices: “The plan really just lays out that framework for decision‑making,” he said. Commissioners raised operational concerns about a recent project on Eagle Harbor Drive (pedestrian islands and traffic flow), mapping glitches (a duplicated Lost Valley trail line), and inconsistent labeling of the Fort Ward segment across figures; staff agreed to correct mapping errors and follow up on project‑specific design questions during engineering and design phases.

Two amendments to the mobility plan were approved before the main recommendation. Commissioner Sarah moved that staff add language supporting additional targeted lighting for pedestrian safety in the plan’s intersections and crosswalks; the motion was seconded and passed unanimously after commissioners discussed balancing safety with light pollution. Sarah said the change was motivated by close calls she and others reported: “I also don’t want anyone to get hit.”

Commissioner Alex moved, and the commission approved unanimously, a recommendation that the city study increasing roadside vegetation maintenance in targeted locations to create safer pedestrian shoulders as a low‑cost, neighborhood‑scale safety measure; staff said roadside mowing and gravel‑shouldering are part of existing maintenance programs and could be prioritized where feasible.

After the discussion and the amendments, the commission voted to recommend adoption of the Islandwide Mobility Plan as amended and then recommended corresponding updates to the Transportation Element so that the two documents align by reference. Both motions passed unanimously.

What’s next: staff will update appendices and maps as noted, and will bring the draft code and additional documentation back to the commission with the edits referenced at the meeting. The commission directed staff to track mapping fixes and to return answers on project‑level design questions during subsequent design reviews.