Oso

JULY 15>> Highway Sign for Deer Creek APPROVED

Request Approved

Our new "Deer Creek" highway sign is on the way! Here's the latest email (dated July 15th) from our friends at the Washington State Department of Transportation

Hello Kate,
As you have already heard, we have already approved the "Deer Creek" sign on SR 530 in the EB direction. 
We are not able to approve the stream name sign in the WB direction due to the existing sign spacing leading up to the Deer Creek Brdg. at this time. With that being said, I will keep a request for the WB sign on record so that this may be included in the sign plan when the next major project comes through the area.
 I should be able to have a work order sent to our maintenance group by the end of next week. Due to the current construction season, it will be about 1-2 months for the "Deer Creek" sign to be installed.
Feel free to call me or email me if you have any other questions.
Hayden Wong
WSDOT NW Region
Traffic General Operations
(206) 440 4411
wongh@wsdot.wa.gov

Under Consideration

Our request for a green highway sign to mark Deer Creek at the Oso bridge is now under consideration by the State Department of Transportation.  Here's the text of the email we received 6/24/2009.

Hello Ms. Mullen,
I work in the Traffic Operations section of the WSDOT's NW Region Headquarters (Shoreline).  One of my staff will be reviewing your request for a Deer Creek sign on SR 530.
A quick look shows definite possibilities in the eastbound direction but there may be a sign spacing problem westbound.  There are already three signs very closely spaced approaching the bridge and I believe some may have been recently remounted from wood to steel posts (to save money in the long run).
We've got quite a backlog of work at the moment so it may be a while before we can complete our review.  However, one of my staff will be in contact with you in the next couple weeks to give you an update.
In the meantime, if you have any questions please contact me or Hayden Wong of my staff at wongh@wsdot.wa.gov, (206) 440 4411.
Sincerely,
Dave Deede
WSDOT NW Region Traffic
General Operations Supervisor
(206) 440-4395
deeded@wsdot.wa.gov

The Request 

And here's the text of the original email sent 6/20/2009. 

Dear Angel Hubbard,
As a resident of Oso, I would like to make a request that you consider adding a green informational sign on State Route 530 saying "Deer Creek" at the bridge that crosses over it, just west of milepost 33 in Oso.

I believe such a sign would help orient travelers consulting their maps, particularly since (I think all?) the other bridges on SR-530 go over one curve or another of the snaking Stillaguamish River. A lot of travelers, I suspect, assume they are once again crossing the Stillaguamish when it is actually Deer Creek that our particular bridge goes over. A green highway sign would clarify this and may save travelers from the confusion & frustration that currently results from this being yet another unidentified bridge on a long country highway with few obvious landmarks.

Also, it would be very useful to be able to refer to 'the Deer Creek bridge' and have travelers be able to easily identify when they have reached it. Locals, of course, know the nearby Cicero bridge from the Deer Creek bridge, but there is currently no signage at either for the hapless visitor.

Adding a sign that says "Deer Creek" would also serve as an aid to fisherman and other sports enthusiasts looking for it, as well as to history-, literature-, and western fiction buffs looking for the creek that author Zane Grey made famous in 1918. Deer Creek has important cultural & economic significance in our history, and deserves, in my view, to be acknowledged and differentiated from the Stillaguamish River.

To whom should I refer this request for consideration of such a sign?
Many thanks for your assistance.