Driving in Bremerton

It’s the first of September, the first day of the fall school term in Bremerton. That’s one more reason to be careful when driving around town. The safety of kids is of course paramount, but that’s not what I’m writing about. With red-light cameras at major intersections and a citywide emphasis on traffic enforcement, drivers already need to be especially vigilant when driving in Bremerton. The all-day 20-mph speed limit in school zones just ups the chances of getting a traffic citation.

I live just outside the city limits on a small peninsula. There’s no way to go anywhere (except further up Rocky Point) without driving through Bremerton. I’m a law-abiding driver (most of the time), but once I’m inside the city limits, the stress level goes up. I don’t feel that way when I’m driving in Kitsap County or in its other incorporated cities. I can’t cite any statistics, but Bremerton seems to have more police cars on patrol (per capita or per street mile or however such things are measured) than anywhere else.

The school zone nearest my home—Crown Hill Elementary—is especially tricky to navigate. There are actually two zones, one on Marine Drive and one on Rocky Point Road. The cops patrol both of them, sometimes at the same time. Yet you can only see the school from the Rocky Point zone. Both zones are well-marked with signs stating that the 20 mph limit (instead of 25) is in effect from 7:30 to 4:00. But because kids are present for only a few minutes in the morning and afternoon, some drivers don’t pay attention and are easily caught whenever the cops set up a trap there. On the other extreme, people have told me that the lower speed limit needs to be observed seven days a week. Not even I do that.

Every time I see a traffic cop in Bremerton, it makes me wonder how many I didn’t see and whether I just had a near miss. It’s the constant possibility of getting stopped that makes driving a strain in the city. Earlier I blogged about a stop-sign warning and a red-light citation. So do the city police have me doing what they want me to do assuming the goal is to produce better drivers instead of raising revenue? Maybe. I am trying to become a safer and more courteous driver even though I have been driving since the 1960’s. My biggest pet peeve is drivers who pull into traffic when there isn’t enough pavement for a safe entrance. Now if the cops would issue more tickets in those situations, I could get behind them.