01/24/2007: "A Few Bumps In Presentation By PW On Roads"

Public Works Director Jon Shannon went before the County Council on Tuesday, and gave the Council a background course on Chip-Seal he entitled "Chip Seal 101", billed as a chance "to Learn what seal coating is and why we do it".

At the end of the presentation it became fairly clear that most, if not all of the Council members already had an understanding of what chip seal is and why we use it on county roads, but what they really wanted to know is Why are the roads so rough, and why are the rocks (the "chips") coming loose?

Given some of the statements made and questions asked by the council after Shannon's Power Point presentation, his opening Bill Cosby quote that "I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody", was perhaps not well advised, since the only people he ultimately had to please were the members of the council, and the loose rocks and rough road surface was clearly something they had concerns about.

Shannon told the Council that a balance of competing public desires is what your job is all about, and that smooth roads has not been a stated priority by the County. He said his department is guided by the Scenic Roads standards, and that there is nothing in there about smooth road surfaces. He handed out a copy of "Section E. Shoulder Contrast" that states "gravel or crushed stone shoulders offer good contrast to the bituminous pavement".

It was not made clear that how a road shoulder is to be constructed gave guidance as to how road surfaces should be constructed, and the council did not follow up on it; although Councilman Gene Knapp at the end of the presentation did ask Shannon "What is the significance of the term "Scenic Roads?" Shannon responded "I don't know".

As Shannon went through the presentation he listed some of the possible reasons for what he acknowledged has been an on-going problem with the roads, but steadfastly maintained that the size of the rock was not the problem, and repeatedly dismissed concerns about rock size as "a conspiracy theory". He stated that if the rocks are of the correct shape, clean, and held together correctly by use of the right sealer applied at the right depth, and properly pressed down with a roller, then given the proper length of time for the surface to become hard, it does not matter what size the rocks are.

After the presentation the council began to ask questions, and as some of council members stated their opinions the road got a bit bumpy for Shannon. Councilman Lichter told Shannon that "I found this report to be disturbing. You told us you would explain the problem to us, but then said you don't know what the problem is". Lichter added that while Shannon told them he "needed new facilities, you did not address why most of the world uses 3/8 inch rock, and we are using 5/8 inch rock". Knapp responded to Lichter's comments by stating that he thought "San Juan County is very fortunate to have you (Shannon) on board", indicating that he felt the criticism was too severe.

Councilman Peterson told Shannon that "It seems to me we have a dangerous situation with rocks flying around, and you're saying we may not do anything about it in 2007 except study it…I think we have a crises…what can we do now?" Shannon said they can remove the rock from the road as it comes loose by sweeping it up, and that "we all need to slow down", explaining that would help the cracked window problem.

Slowing down is one of the significance impacts of The Scenic Roads guidelines, which eventually came into existence after numerous complaints from the public when the road leading from the Orcas ferry landing to Eastsound was widened, and many felt the clearing of the trees and vegetation next to the road was excessive.

Long time residents remember that before the now existing Scenic Road on San Juan Island was scheduled for a complete re-build, the County Commissioners decided it was time to rein in Public Works, and they set-up some guidelines to try and keep the rural feel of the roads. At that time Commissioners Corliss, Evans and Starr listened to all of the arguments given by Public Works as to why they could not keep Westside road ‘scenic", and then told them to do it anyway; and if the only way the county could get around State design requirements was to lower the speed limit, then lower it, but keep the road as it is. End of that argument.

The end of the current problem does not appear to be as easily solved, and while Shannon told the Council that they needed to understand the engineering and the science of road design and construction in order to make policy, it does not seem likely that if the Council tells Public Works their policy is to make the roads less rough and keep the rocks from coming loose, that based on the information presented at the "Chip Seal 101" course, that PW knows how to solve the problem.

The Council ran out of time for discussion, but when they meet again in two weeks, they hope to take the subject up again.