In a move intended to make downtown Coupeville safer and more pedestrian friendly, the Coupeville Town Council approved a resolution Tuesday to make Front Street a one-way street, with traffic heading west.
The resolution will also make one block of Main Street one-way traveling north, and one block of Alexander Street one-way moving south, creating a loop through the historic district.
Parallel parking on Front Street will be replaced with angled parking on the south side only, existing angled parking spaces on Alexander Street will face the opposite direction, and existing angled parking spaces on Main Street will remain the same, but become back-in spaces.
The redesign of Front Street will include another handicap parking spot, a pedestrian pickup and drop-off point and a loading area for delivery trucks, Mayor Molly Hughes said. She added that the cost of the project will be low because it only requires paint and some signage.
“It’s going to be a big change for relatively no money,” she said.
The intersection of Coveland Street and Alexander Street will also be changed from a two-way to a four-way stop under this resolution.
The mayor said she has been working with the Coupeville Historic Waterfront Association and the Coupeville Chamber of Commerce for several months to notify Front Street business and property owners of the proposed change, but some business owners said they did not get the memo.
John Rodriguey, owner of Toby’s Tavern, said he did not receive proper notification of the pending change and shared in a public comment his concerns that the change would negatively affect the historic district and ultimately drive visitors away from the area.
His biggest concern was that making Front Street one-way would inhibit delivery trucks’ ability to access businesses without blocking the road and stalling traffic. Rodriguey said he often sees several delivery trucks on Front Street at a time.
“I don’t know how we would be able to make that work or how that wouldn’t affect our survival,” he said.
George Lloyd, another longtime Front Street business owner, was most worried that drivers using the angled parking spaces would encroach on the already narrow sidewalk on the south side of the street. He, too, said he was not notified of the proposal.
Hughes said that the town held multiple stakeholder meetings and worked closely with the chamber and the Historic Waterfront Association to reach Front Street property owners, and that the proposed traffic change has appeared as a discussion item on the council’s agenda multiple times in the past.
Besides the two commenters, one other business owner contacted Hughes to say she had not been notified, the mayor said. Of those area business owners she did connect with, however, Hughes said their feedback was largely positive.
“I can tell you without a doubt the vast majority of businesses in that area are excited about this change,” she said.
Kingfisher Bookstore owner Meg Olson, who is running against Hughes for the mayoral seat in this year’s general election, said in an interview that she supports the changes, which will improve pedestrian safety, traffic safety and walkability in the historic district.
Even if the changes don’t have the desired outcomes, Olson said, the project itself only entails paint and signs and could be reversed without too much hassle if necessary. She said she knows of several other Front Street business owners who are open to trying it out for this reason.
She added that the public outreach process could have been more thorough and included more direct notification to downtown merchants.
The resolution passed in a 3-1 vote, with Councilmember Jenny Bright providing the opposing vote. Councilmember Jackie Henderson was absent from the meeting.
