A group of Central Whidbey residents are trying to stop a road project that’s supposed to improve safety and provide additional stops for Island Transit buses.

Barbara Vaughan said she and a group of neighbors are concerned that the Washington Department of Transportation’s plans to reconfigure the intersection of Highway 20 at Parker Road would actually make the area less safe. They also question the wisdom of proposed bus turn-outs.

The residents have been outspoken about their concerns for years. But as the project draws closer, the group is making a last effort to put an end to it.

“I think we should shut the whole thing down,” she said, “and start from square one.”

The group of five residents urges the public to attend a meeting they are holding at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 10, at the Pacific Rim Institute, which is adjacent to the impending construction site on Parker Road.

The members of the loose-knit group, she said, feel that the $5.8-million project — particularly the bus turn-in lanes — is a waste of money, will be unsafe and will create an ugly entranceway to Ebey’s Landing National Historical Reserve.

Vaughan said the project was originally pushed by Martha Rose, former Island Transit director, who also had plans for a pedestrian tunnel nearby.

Yet Tom Pearce, a spokesman for DOT, said the project is already all set to go.

The proposals have been the subject of many public meetings over the years and went through changes.

He said the project is going out to bid in May. Construction will be this summer.

According to Pearce, the project would close the intersection at Parker Road and the highway. Parker Road would be re-routed to Morris Road, which intersects with the highway just south of the current Parker Road intersection.

Left-turn lanes would be added on the highway at Morris Road and the county transfer stations.

The intersection of the highway and Smith Prairie Road would also be closed.

In addition, the project calls for bus turn-outs on both sides of the highway near Morris Road.

Vaughan argues that this provision makes little sense and would lead to people crossing the road at the blind curve on the highway. She questions who would even use the bus stop across from Morris Road, which would be adjacent to the Central Whidbey Sportsmen’s Association.

She also noted that another bus stop was just a short distance away at the Island Transit facility.

Vaughan said she and the other residents believe that there are inexpensive solutions to making the section of the highway safer.

They proposed a combination of speed reduction and rumble strips could be the job.