Libby Williams reports from the Island County Commissioners’ board meeting of Tue., Feb. 3, 2026 for the Stanwood Camano News. Read the whole story.
Summary by Perplexity AI
Island County commissioners unanimously approved an ordinance on Feb. 3 to reduce speed limits on numerous county roads, including several on Camano Island. The action follows a 2020–2023 speed study that recommended lowering limits on 72 of 144 studied segments, with the rest unchanged, and cutting 14 additional 50‑mph segments to 45 mph. County Engineer Ed Sewester presented the findings, and commissioners heard from nine residents during a public hearing. Commissioners Janet St. Clair (D-Camano Island) and Jill Johnson (R-Oak Harbor) emphasized that while lower limits improve safety, driver behavior remains critical. Some unresolved issues, including a removed school zone and Camano Plaza IGA speeds, will be revisited.
They Said It
Commissioner Janet St. Clair said she heard public input requesting even lower speeds in certain areas, specifically a request from the Stanwood-Camano School District to replace a school zone that was taken out in 2017.
“It’s a confusing issue that came in at the very end of the speed study,” St. Clair said.
“Trying to understand the why is complicated, and I think it needs further study,” she added. “The public was very clear about that request, (and) we will address it later.”
St. Clair said she also heard public input about the speed limit in front of Camano Plaza IGA.
“We’re putting in a traffic circle at Cross Island Road and McElroy that will naturally dampen speeds, so I also, for the public, recommend that we defer that decision,” she said, “and we can address it when we look at the traffic circles.”
Before voting in favor of the ordinance, Commissioner Jill Johnson expressed that reducing the speed would not be a cure-all for unsafe driving.
“I want the public to understand that accidents are still going to happen, people are still going to die,” Johnson said.
“If you drive drunk, you run the risk of dying, and that is a consequence of personal choice,” she said. “If you speed, we can post a speed limit sign, and you can speed outside of that, and you could get a very negative outcome, and that is outside of government’s ability to protect you.”
She said the decision to pass the ordinance is “very rational” and based on current road conditions, but each driver’s decisions add a variable that can’t be controlled.
St. Clair echoed the sentiment, giving kudos to the staff behind the study and the public that came to the meeting.
“I want to thank the audience that showed up today, because in some of our public meetings about this, we’ve had some pretty offensive comments made to our staff about them not caring about human life and casting aspersions on our staff,” she said.
“So I just want to thank the public that was here today for being respectful in their public input and recognizing the hard work of our staff.”
