Warren Ave bridge sidewalk will widen to 12 feet on one side after council recommendation

Editor's note: This story has been updated since initial publication.

Expanding the sidewalks on either side of the Warren Avenue Bridge has been a goal for Bremerton's mayor, elected representatives, and transportation advocates for years, and has taken a significant step forward this summer with the selection of a preferred design to improve sidewalk access.

However, the city council's recent endorsement of a plan to widen the current 3.5-foot sidewalk on the span's east side to 12 feet, and 8 feet on the west side, clashes with the city administration's most recent set of proposals, raising worries that the entire initiative could be delayed.

The plan to improve the bridge has been in the works several years, with millions of dollars committed and a robust public input process now in the past. The question in recent months settled on just how wide those sidewalks would be, to alleviate the problems posed for pedestrians, bicycles and wheelchairs and enhance the "multi-modal" transportation route along the city's major thoroughfare that leaders prize. Three proposals were under consideration before an Aug. 2 meeting, each of which would expand the bridge's width by using a cantilevered design and not take away from the current capacity for vehicle lanes. Those included a recommendation from public works staff of 10-foot wide sidewalks on either side of the bridge, as well as an option of 12-foot sidewalks on either side, which would add more than an estimated $2 million to the project's cost.

However, the city council abruptly selected a fourth option, encompassing the 12-foot/8-foot alignment.

Council president Jeff Coughlin, who had spoken in favor of a minimum of 12-foot sidewalk widths at a council meeting in June and presented a draft of the option in July, brought forward a resolution for the 12/8 plan, or "Alternative X," at the Aug. 2 meeting. He calls the adopted scenario "a reasonable compromise" that he believes will fit in the approximate $26 million budget and meet what he calls the minimum needed to be considered a true multi-modal project.

But Mayor Greg Wheeler, contacted this week, said he's worried the 12/8 option, which was not included by Bremerton's public works department in the series of estimates and feasibility studies done by the Washington State Department of Transportation. Wheeler said the change from options that included 10-foot sidewalks widths on either side could cost time, and money.

"Our concern is if we push out construction, there's no escalator (for inflation or rising costs)," Wheeler said. "We worry that if it goes too far, it jeopardizes the project."

Even the city council itself was divided on the decision in its Aug. 2 meeting. Alternative X passed on a 4-2 vote, with two members siding with the administration's recommendation and one councilmember abstaining due to concerns over the transparency of introducing an option that was not among the alternatives analyzed by public works so soon to a vote being taken.

The price tag has been estimated at $26.5 million, made up of $1.5 million state grant for design and $25 million in state money for construction from the Moving Ahead Washington funding package approved by the Legislature in 2022. The money is set aside for a statewide projects list that includes the Warren Avenue Bridge, which is a state highway, but Wheeler expressed concern that any delay could mean other projects could move ahead of Bremerton's in the line for state distribution or that any overage in cost could come from the city budget.

The approved 12/8 alternative has been sent to WSDOT, which is ultimately responsible for the bridge project with city input, so feasibility studies can be done and estimates provided. Wheeler said he anticipates having those returned by September. The council could revisit its recommendation to WSDOT based on estimates received.

Wheeler said city staff believes that a 10-foot sidewalk on each side would be adequate, meet ADA standards and be a much-needed improvement from the current sidewalks, less than four feet wide along a road that carries more than 40,000 vehicles each day. Coughlin, however, said he doesn't believe the 12/8 option selection by the council would change costs much from the estimates for 10/10 and believes any delay in the coming weeks as feasibility studies are done will be worth it for a project that is unlikely to begin construction for several more years.

"The most important thing is to do the right thing in the long-term," Coughlin said in an interview this week.

Bremerton resident Dianne Iverson, a member of the West Sound Cycling Club who participated in the Warren Avenue Bridge Design Committee as a citizen representative, favored the wider sidewalks, as approved by the council.

"I think it's a safer alternative. I'm biased toward symmetry (referring to 10 feet on each side), but I really understand how important those extra two feet are."

Iverson, a double-amputee who uses a cane or a wheelchair when not bicycling, said the ultimate goal is to make pedestrian transportation safe and accessible for the most vulnerable in the community. While she favors the 12/8 option, Iverson credited the process overall by enhancing Bremerton's "bridge-to-bridge" loop between the Manette and Warren Avenue bridges and making the city more walkable as an example to neighboring communities.

"The more Bremerton takes the lead on making our streets safer, the more we take the lead," Iverson said. "Right now, that is our opportunity."

Either plan will greatly change the accessibility along the 65-year old bridge, a major thoroughfare in the city that's used by an estimated 37,000 vehicles each day, according to the state Department of Transportation.

The council's action to selected a preferred alternative does not make any statement about vehicle lanes along the bridge. Earlier discussions in the planning process did introduce the idea of narrowing lanes if alternatives to build cantilevered sidewalks, which would extend out from the current outer barrier of the bridge, were not selected. The cantilevered sidewalks are a more costly option, but one that were included in both the selected design options and the others under consideration.

changing course from the city's initial recommendation of 10-foot-wide sidewalks on either side.

This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: Warren Avenue Bridge pedestrian project approves 12-foot sidewalk