(Editor’s note: This appeared in the April 1 special edition of The Journal)

By Heater Ball-Ding

Reporter

The Town of Friday Harbor’s plan for a painted roundabout at the top of Spring Street has taken a new twist, the inclusion of a toll booth.

The fee will be $2, but the Town of Friday Harbor will sell frequent user tickets, 60 uses for $100. These passes can be bought downstairs in the Town Hall, where business licenses are also sold.

“Not only will it raise funds for the town, but it will stop those hooligans from cruising up and down Spring Street,” said Carrie Scratcher,, mayor of Friday Harbor.

For decades, Spring Street has been the destination of teens, fresh with their drivers’ license, to show off their driving skills with their friends while strategizing evening plans. Unless they feel like handing over the cash every time they approach the top of the street, teens will now have to find an alternative cruising destination.

The toll booth design, drawn by architect Candy Token of Seattle, was presented to the town council on March 28. It shows two wooden arms extending from the toll booth located in the center of the roundabout. One of the arms crosses Argyle, while the other crosses the top of Spring.

Construction will begin May 8 and is expected to be completed by June 1. The Town has already begun advertising for two full time positions to man the booth, but even after those salaries are deducted, it is clear the town of Friday Harbor is expecting the toll booth to more than pay for itself.

“Think of the money this will bring to the town,” said Dunkin’ Wilson, Friday Harbor Town Administrator, while council members nodded in agreement.

“We can create more pocket parks, build a parking garage to handle the lack of parking spaces, maybe even set aside funding for affordable housing,” Wilson said.