Berm spells end to de facto Freeland car lot

March 7, 2017 4:00 pm
Pam Grant photo — A soil berm was recently constructed on the corner of Highway 525 and Honeymoon Bay Road in Freeland to restrict people from parking cars on the shoulder.
Pam Grant photo — A soil berm was recently constructed on the corner of Highway 525 and Honeymoon Bay Road in Freeland to restrict people from parking cars on the shoulder.

Private car sales in Freeland may take a small dip following the installation of a two-foot-high berm along a corner of Highway 525 and Honeymoon Bay Road.

Island County Public Works employees installed the berm last week at the request of local police, according to Steve Marx, the department’s assistant director. The large pullout along the north side of Honeymoon Bay Road had become a sight hazard, he said, due to the number of people who used the area to park vehicles for sale.

“At one point there were nine cars parked there,” Marx said.

That was the report Public Works got from the Island County Sheriff’s Office when it requested the berm, Marx said.

Litter and abandoned vehicles were also a problem. The dirt berm effectively blocks access to the pullout.

It’s unclear how long it will be there, however, as the county is planning a widening project sometime in 2018. Marx didn’t have all the details when asked by a Record reporter, but said it may be a new right-turn lane.