What is the issue?
The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) is responding to residents who live near the SR 104 Hood Canal Bridge and either cannot leave their driveways or access them during bridge openings because of northbound traffic backups on SR 3. Bridge-related backups are also affecting access to and from county roads that intersect SR 3.
What is WSDOT doing?
WSDOT agrees with residents’ concerns about this long-standing issue and is taking steps to alleviate the problem by informing drivers about pavement markings and signage that designate the areas in front of these driveways as "no stopping" zones.
Six signs on the northbound shoulder of SR 3 near the Hood Canal Bridge advise drivers, who are caught in backups from bridge openings, not to block residential driveways or county roads. In total, 36 private driveways and county roads along northbound SR 3 are marked with white hash marks, indicating areas that drivers should not block.
Parking in driveways is not an enforceable offense which motorists can be ticketed for, but WSDOT is hoping the hash marks and signage will remind drivers that in addition to being a state highway, SR 3 is also a roadway that many people use to get to and from their homes.