For a moment last week, it looked like some of Vashon’s best and brightest were going to place their cars in front of a pavement grinding machine and face off against what they saw as one of the forces of evil.

From a journalistic perspective, it was an auspicious moment. On relatively quiet Vashon Island, a real news story was poised to unfold.

But after a private conversation with a deputy sheriff, Steve Abel thought better of the action, which would have landed him in jail for the day. “I have things I need to get done today,” he noted wryly before heading home. And so the moment passed.

What hasn’t passed, however, is the controversy that touched off his thoughts of civil disobedience.

Many cyclists are outraged by what unfolded last week, when a private road crew hired by King County rolled onto Vashon to begin the work of installing rumble strips the entire length of Vashon Highway.

They have reason to be unhappy. The rumble strips along the highway’s shoulders will lower the quality of cycling on the Island, a regional destination for those who love to bike ride. More to the point, no one asked them what they thought before the grinding machine started rumbling down the highway.

Ironically, only two weeks before, several county officials had visited Vashon to meet with residents and discuss their plans for the Island — the first official gathering of the county’s Community Service Area, a new approach to public engagement. Officials from the roads division were among those who attended. No one thought to mention the rumble strip project.

How did this happen?

In the county’s defense, those involved with the effort thought they’d adequately considered the cycling community. They asked the Cascade Bicycle Club how best to approach the project, and the club gave them some direction — though apparently targeted public engagement wasn’t on the list.

And in October 2010, the county sent a news release to The Beachcomber, noting that Vashon Highway was one of six rural roadways that would get rumble strips the following year. (The project was ultimately delayed.) We intended to write a news brief about it — the issue seemed minor to us and deserving of only a paragraph or two. But it was a busy couple of news weeks and the item never made it into the paper. No one from the county called to complain, nor were we sent subsequent announcements.

In the words of many a politician, mistakes were made. How should we now proceed? The county’s plan to visit Vashon and have a full discussion about the project is a good first step. We encourage all sides — including residents who welcome the strips — to listen fully and well and strive to find a solution that makes sense for Vashon and the region as a whole.

It will likely be difficult — and financially prohibitive — to undo what’s been done. But there’s still another half of the project to be completed. Let’s think hard and creatively before anymore rumble strips are installed.