Petition to: Chris Laity, Tillamook County Public Works Director
Subject matter: Placement of signs and speed reduction areas for tourism enhancement and public safety in the Pacific City area
Statement: We, the concerned citizens of the South Tillamook County non-incorporated area of Pacific City, are requesting the following placement of new signs as well as reduction of speed limits to enhance the experience and safety of our many visitors as well as our local citizens.
Sign placements requested:
1. Two “Slow – Deer Crossing” signs on Brooten Road before the intersection with Fisher Rd. One in each direction. It’s a known area of hazard for our local wildlife, and collisions between motorists and deer cause not only physical and monetary damage to the vehicle and owner, but also psychological damage to both citizens and visitors newly entering our city. The placement of the deer crossing signs would at least warn motorists of the possibility of encountering wildlife and to proceed with caution reducing trauma for all.
2. A “Left turn permitted without stop” sign at the intersection of Cape Kiwanda Dr. and Pacific Ave. This is a spot of frequent confusion for visitors to our area and often results in honking and negative reactions from motorists behind who are familiar with the intersection. It’s just an important clarification for out-of-town visitors.
3. An additional speed limit sign on Resort Dr. just east of the Woods Bridge. Motorists are speeding through a residential area with children, pets, bicycle riders, etc. A reminder of the speed limit for vehicles coming from Sandlake Rd. turning either direction onto Resort drive is being requested.
Reduced Speed Limits being requested:
1. Brooten Road from the first house on the east (or South) side of the road to the existing speed limit reduction at the little bridge entering Pacific City. There is a long-standing safety issue in this area stemming from the location of the Fisher Point (guard rail) boat launch. The current speed limit in this area is 40 mph. There is a curve on the road on both approaches to the boat launch area creating a restricted sight distance. Motorists are approaching at speeds that are hazardous, especially when a vehicle towing a boat has pulled onto the roadway and can’t be seen. The approaching vehicle(s) are forced to take avoidance action which has resulted in numerous near misses both rear end and head-on. As the traffic has increased with the number of visitors to our area, this situation has become even more hazardous. We request that the speed limit on that stretch of Brooten be reduced to 30 mph. (A traffic monitoring device recorded information for that area in July 2021).
2. Cape Kiwanda Drive from Pacific Ave. to Hungry Harbor Dr. The current speed limit is 35 mph, and we are requesting that speed to be lowered to 30 mph. With the tremendous increase in tourism that Pacific City has experienced in the past several years, roadside stretches along Cape Kiwanda Dr. have become the overflow location for parking for the cape. This congestion has created another safety issue, that of people entering and exiting their vehicles into the roadway where traffic is moving at 35+ mph. In the past 2 years we have had several people including children injured and even life flighted because of this safety issue. It is obvious that the time to reduce the speed limit is now.