Speaking of road projects, has anyone wondered -- for instance, while they're stuck in traffic on East Washington during the outbound evening commute -- why the city decided to tear up Williamson Street and Sherman Avenue at the same time?
Rob Phillips, the city engineer, says both streets faced state-mandated water-system improvements, and the city did not see the two projects as "conflicting." He disputes that closing Sherman Avenue is having a significant impact on East Wash.
Sherman Avenue, he says, typically handles lower volumes of 3,750 to 5,700 vehicles per day, which will mostly shift to parallel roadways like Johnson Street. But roughly half of the 17,000 to 21,500 vehicles per day on Williamson, now open only to inbound traffic, are being diverted, mainly to East Wash, with the greatest impact occurring during the evening commute.