EDMONDS — The city and the Port of Edmonds are poised to spend $125,000 to show state lawmakers the importance of a request for money for a major transportation plan.
Earlier this year, the city asked the Legislature for $1.25 million to study how to reduce traffic jams caused by frequent trains on the city’s waterfront. The city set aside $100,000 from the general fund, and the Port of Edmonds approved $25,000 for the project.
“There are a lot of projects and issues around the state. They all warrant money and attention,” said Patrick Doherty, who oversees the city’s Economic Development and Community Services programs. “The more you can portray your issue as being well grounded in your own community, the better you will be received.”
The money from the city and the port is intended to underscore the seriousness of the traffic problem, and to demonstrate the city and port working together on a cost-effective solution, said Bob McChesney, the port’s executive director.
The state has a stake in the problem, too. Highway 104 to the Edmonds-Kingston ferry dock also is affected by the trains.
With normal traffic patterns, about 40 trains go through the city each day. That shuts down access to the city’s waterfront for about two hours a day, according to city officials.
“This has been going on for many, many years,” McChesney said. “We own and operate properties on the west side of the tracks that are encumbered every day by train traffic.”
The stretch of tracks between Point Wells and north of downtown Edmonds is the only part of the main rail line that is single-tracked, he said. BNSF Railway plans to add double tracks there, McChesney said. “You can see how these grade crossings will become a very serious problem over time.”
The two street crossings are Main and Dayton streets. Passing trains block the two streets, which provide access to the nearby beach, pier and other waterfront areas. If a train breaks down in the area, which happens occasionally, it can leave people stranded on either side of the tracks for an hour or more and keep emergency vehicles from getting into the area, city officials say. The senior center is west of the tracks.
Adding to the traffic woes are the 3.8 million walk-on passengers and drivers each year who board ferries, and have to cross the tracks to do so.
Edmonds Mayor Dave Earling said he met individually with the port’s commissioners about the area’s traffic issues. “They quickly tuned in to the fact that the resulting study will be as important to them as to the people in the city of Edmonds itself,” he said.
Still unknown is whether the Legislature will approve $1.2 million in state money for the study.
“Obviously, a key step in any major capital project is vetting the alternatives, getting the public involved and doing some design work on the preferred alternatives,” Doherty said. “Whatever alternative we come up with through this process will require even more money.”
Basically, roadways could be constructed over or under the tracks. Or, as suggested by a local couple, a trench could be constructed to allow trains to pass through the city below grade, with traffic unimpeded at ground level at Dayton and Main streets.
Last year, the city paid Tetra Tech, a Seattle consulting firm, $10,000 to take a preliminary look at both the cost and the engineering challenges of a trench. The 7,800-foot trench would cost an estimated $250 million to $290 million, and there would be significant engineering challenges, the report said.
Sharon Salyer: 425-339-3486; salyer@heraldnet.com.
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