Bainbridge Islanders,
I am in the unique position of knowing about City sponsored activities that will affect people’s lives before other people. I don’t want to necessarily keep this information to myself. This is the reason for trying to make sure the public is alerted to future projects. I want the community to know about projects that will be disruptive, so they won’t be surprised. One such project is the Bundled Madison Avenue project. This is the kind of project that will be a wonderful improvement when completed but will be disruptive during construction.
Right now, the City is wrapping up the design and work needed to acquire the right-of-way for the Bundled Madison Avenue project. The design stretches from Wyatt Way to New Brooklyn, and includes bike safety improvements, sidewalk widening, new sidewalks, pavement restoration and sewer line improvements. The project will be bid in early summer 2023 with a construction start anticipated in late summer. The project budget is approximately $6M with $1.4M coming from a federal transportation grant.
We know the project will be disruptive. We want to minimize the construction impacts. City staff will contact business and property owners along Madison Avenue in early summer to discuss impacts on traffic flow and property frontages. The project is anticipated to be completed in 2024.
Knowing about issues before the general public is a special privilege. It is important that public officials not benefit from this special privilege. An example of public officials receiving a special privilege not available to the general public is the case of the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission and Pappy Van Winkle 23-year old whiskey. Now, I don’t really know who pays thousands of dollars for a bottle of top-shelf bourbon, but nevertheless, in Oregon, public officials benefited from insider information. Look up the case, it’s fascinating.
Best,
Blair King
City Manager
