EDMONDS — The intersection of a state highway, a railroad and a ferry terminal in the city’s waterfront area has created traffic jams for decades.
Now the city, the Port of Edmonds, the Washington State Ferries and BNSF Railway are joining local citizens to try to work out some solutions.
Edmonds Mayor Dave Earling has appointed an advisory group to help guide a study on alternatives for solving the problem.
The group will advise a consulting firm that has yet to be chosen. Once a firm is selected, the study of traffic solutions could take up to 18 months.
The members are: City Councilman Mike Nelson; Jim Orvis, a Port of Edmonds commissioner; Edmonds residents Kirk Greiner, Cadence Kerr and Phil Lovell; Joy Munkers, director of planning and development for Community Transit; Rick Wagner, manager of BNSF’s public projects Northwest division; Lynne Griffiths, assistant secretary, Washington State Ferries; Lorena Eng, regional administrator, Washington State Department of Transportation; Rob English, city engineer; and Patrick Doherty, director of the city’s Economic Development and Community Services.
Lovell is a retired engineer and Kerr is a managing principal at HDR engineering in Edmonds and is active in a number of local groups, Earling said. He called Greiner a “big picture thinker” who will listen to all the information.
All this doesn’t mean the public won’t have a say, Earling said. “Community involvement will be a high priority,” he said. The plan is to build several points into the planning process where the public will be able to give their opinions, he said.
The city estimates up to 40 trains pass through each day, blocking access to the waterfront for about 90 minutes. And each year some 3.8 million people either drive or walk on to the Edmonds-Kingston ferry. They have to cross the tracks to do so.
A total of $675,000 from the state and three other organizations has now been raised for the study of suggested ways to solve the traffic problems.
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. That would allow traffic to flow at ground level without stops for trains at Dayton and Main streets.
Once an alternative is picked, the city expects it will cost an additional $400,000 to $600,000 for design.
Sharon Salyer: 425-339-3486; salyer@heraldnet.com.
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