Monday, April 10, 2006

Signs to clarify road use near park

By Katherine Tam And Venice Buhain
The Olympian

On Sunday, Ben Livingston of Olympia was back on Powerhouse Road.

"Ah, caught again," he said when an interview request interrupted his afternoon walk.

Two months ago, Livingston got a $101 ticket for failing to obey a regulatory sign and directions while walking on the service road near Capitol Lake.

Last week, the state General Administration office announced that it will post signs on Powerhouse Road to clarify how pedestrians may use it: People on foot must give the right-of-way to state maintenance and patrol cars.

The paved road leads vehicle traffic to a power station that provides electricity to the Capitol Campus, but many pedestrians and bicyclists use it instead of the gravel path around the lake.

There are no plans to close or block off the road, said Steve Valandra, state spokesman.

Along with the new signs, the state also will add:

-- A crosswalk where the Capitol Campus' hillside trail crosses the road and connects to Heritage Park.

-- A "no trespassing" sign to be installed farther west on the road at the entrance to the power plant.

The additions total $3,500 and will be done by the end of this month.

Officials say its a compromise to keep the park open for public use while ensuring that people don't wander back to the power plant.

"Heritage Park is becoming more and more of a gathering spot and a destination for a variety of uses," said Linda Villegas Bremer, head of General Administration. "The improvements we're putting into place along the Powerhouse Road are designed to make the park an even better place for our community."

Powerhouse Road runs for about a quarter of a mile on the south side of Capitol Lake. It stretches from Seventh and Water streets to the power plant.

A sign posted at Seventh and Water streets states that the road is for state vehicles only, but dozens of people walk or jog on it every day as an alternative to the crushed rock trail that circles the park. Others use it to enter the hillside trail that meanders up to the Capitol Campus.

Still, some pedestrians on Powerhouse Road on Sunday said the lack of signs made the road's use confusing.

James Bell of Olympia, walking from the Marathon Park pedestrian bridge, said he saw no sign from that direction, and he had assumed the road was for pedestrians.

"It's in a park, and it comes off into that walkway," he said.

"It looks like a pedestrian path," his friend, Joe Tokarsky, said. "There are no lines on the ground or anything that would indicate that it's for cars."

Other pedestrians said they had never had any problem sharing the road with the Washington State Patrol or state workers employed at the power plant.

"I like this road because the State Patrol comes down here all the time," Leovy Cabrera of Olympia said. "I stay on the side because ... they can't drive around me if I stay in the middle."

Livingston said Sunday the service road where he likes to run is convenient to where he lives in downtown Olympia.

He is appealing the $101 ticket for failing to obey the regulatory sign and directions while walking on the road toward the hillside trail.

"I'm pretty sure we'll win," he said.

He also was issued a trespass warning banning him from Heritage Park for 30 days, which since has expired.

He said he also is filing a claim against the state for $6,000 in damages, which translates to $200 a day for each day he was banned from the park.