The roads in San Juan County can be dangerous. Some are narrow, winding, and parallel to sharp drop-offs with cold, deep water below.

When locals die on roads without guardrails, it raises the question: Could these deaths have been prevented?

The island mourned Gitte Sofaer when her car plunged into the icy water of Cascade Lake two years ago. Now we are facing the loss of Nate Tyler, who died when his vehicle went off Channel Road two weeks ago.

The road through Cascade Lake is perilous. The water’s edge is so close to the asphalt that a little bit of ice or a few seconds of distraction could end in disaster.

San Juan County engineer John Van Lund says the county has been trying to install guardrails there for 50 years, but has been unable to move forward because of Washington State Parks. The county only has a prescriptive road easement through Moran State Park, so it needs consent before beginning a road safety improvement project.

“If State Parks would agree, we’d install steel guardrails,” Van Lund said. “I was willing to cost-share the project, but they don’t want that. It is not aesthetically pleasing. Several years ago we looked at the possibility of cable guardrails, but they are ineffective there because of the convex curve. I also find the one-lane bridge troublesome. But no one wants to do anything about it. We have these situations all over the place in the county. It’s a problem.”

Jim Schuh, Moran State Park manager, says they want to protect drivers but also preserve the historic look of the park and the safety of pedestrians.

“With the width of the road, a barrier would put pedestrians in danger. It would either push them into traffic or into the lake. And being a historical park and a historical district, we want to see guardrails like the ones on Mt. Constitution that fit the look of the park.”

The Friends of Moran is currently applying for scenic byways funding to repair some of those guardrails on Mt. Constitution, but it wouldn’t be used for any along Cascade Lake.

Channel road, however, is not bound by any restrictions, and Van Lund thinks the curve where Tyler died is a good spot for a guardrail. The road was chipsealed in 2008, adding skid resistance for drivers, but it wasn’t enough to save his life.

“In the past, installing guardrails on our county roads was not encouraged by the county commissioners,” Van Lund said. “Many felt they were not in keeping with the rural and scenic quality of our narrow and winding roads. Some object to guardrails because they narrow the travelled way, are not pedestrian or bicycle friendly, and are not aesthetically pleasing.”

However, in 2006, San Juan County received a federal grant for safety improvements, which was spent on guardrail safety projects on Orcas, Lopez, and San Juan. The county installed them at nine locations on Orcas and two on Lopez. Repairs were also made to existing guardrails on all three islands. During that time, over half a million dollars of federal funds and county road money was spent on guardrail projects.

This is a great start, but we simply need more. We encourage the current county council to review other spots in the islands that are in need of safety improvements. We can’t undo the deaths of two community members, but we can use those tragedies as a warning.

And for Orcas Islanders who drive by Cascade Lake and on other treacherous stretches of road: drive slowly, attentively, and without impairment, and pay attention to road conditions. Until every dangerous spot has been dealt with, take caution.