01/21/2010: "Firm Hired To Manage SJ Islands Scenic Byway Project"

Members of the San Juan Islands Scenic Byway Partnership have selected Otak, Inc. , an award-winning planning, architecture, design and engineering firm, to coordinate and produce the required Corridor Management Plan for the San Juan Islands Scenic Byway -- the State’s newest byway.

Otak, based in the Pacific Northwest since 1981, is an interdisciplinary firm focused on context-sensitive approaches and community-based solutions. Island residents are invited to community workshops on San Juan and Orcas Islands February 2 and 3.

The company lists among its clients the National Park Service, Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission, Washington State Historical Society, Bureau of Land Management, and various other local, state and federal agencies. Otak also has experience working in San Juan County; engineers and water resource specialists are currently engaged in the Point Lawrence Road culvert replacement project on Orcas Island.

Team leader Mandi Roberts is a principal with Otak who has been involved in scenic byways work for over 15 years and led the development of the Whidbey Island Scenic Isle Way Corridor Management Plan. Other primary team members include Curtis LaPierre, senior associate with Otak and past president of the Washington Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects. He brings extensive context-sensitive planning and design experience. Also on the primary team is Allisa Carlson, a LEED certified planning and landscape architecture professional who brings experience in signing and wayfinding design, as well as interpretive planning.

Sponsored by the San Juan Islands Visitors Bureau, the San Juan Islands Scenic Byway is a collaborative effort to interpret, protect, preserve and promote the unique rural areas of the Islands which welcome and can accommodate visitors. The corridor management planning process will bring together citizens, businesses, organizations, and local, state and federal government agencies to define the community’s vision, goals and branding of the San Juan Islands Scenic Byway. It will also develop plans for interpretation, define the infrastructure development needs, identify resource protection areas and methods, and define marketing approaches.

For more information and updates on the planning process the public is invited to attend one of two community workshops:

San Juan Island - Tuesday, February 2, 2010 - 3:30 to 5:30 pm
Mullis Community and Senior Center, Friday Harbor

Orcas Island - Wednesday, February 3, 2010 - 3:30 to 5:30 pm
Orcas Island Senior Center

More information on the San Juan Islands Scenic Byway can be found at www.visitsanjuans.com/visitors/scenic-byway/.