MARYSVILLE — Five neighborhoods that have been victim to speeding cut-through drivers will have traffic circles installed by the end of the year.
The circles are officially called “neighborhood traffic calming circles,” and are much smaller than the one on Shoultes Road.
Instead, these circles will be put on neighborhood streets that drivers have been using as short cuts to avoid lights or traffic on the major arterials, said city spokeswoman Bronlea Mishler.
“The goal is to start them this fall and have them installed by winter,” Mishler said, adding that construction would largely be dependent on the weather.
The speed limit on neighborhood city streets is 25 mph, but in several locations, traffic has been observed going as fast as 35 mph, said Jesse Hannahs, Marysville’s traffic engineer.
Likewise, Hannahs said, the city hasn’t determined what percentage of traffic on those roadways is local and how much is cut-through. It also hasn’t compiled accident statistics.
Many of the intersections for which circles are planned are on straight sections of roadway between two arterials.
For example, two traffic circles already have been installed in the Northpointe neighborhood on 71st Avenue NE where it crosses 71st Street NE at 67th Street NE.
At this location, 71st Avenue is a straight north-south shot that runs parallel to 67th Avenue NE between arterials 76th Street NE and 64th Street NE, making it an easy short cut, Mishler said.
Seven or eight more traffic circles are planned to be installed this fall:
92nd Street NE at 46th Drive NE;
92nd Street NE at 48th Drive NE;
56th Avenue NE at 130th Place NE;
56th Avenue NE at 56th Drive NE;
Beach Avenue at Short Street;
and 79th Avenue NE at two or three to-be-determined locations between 48th Street NE and 60th Street NE.
Hannahs said the city has prioritized the list based on traffic volume and speed, with the intersections on 92nd Street NE getting built next.
Most of the traffic circles are small enough and the roadways large enough that the city doesn’t need to lay any additional pavement, he said.
For example, 71st Avenue was wide enough with 12-foot-wide lanes, bicycle lanes and parking on both sides that it didn’t need any additional widening.
In addition, all of the circles will be landscaped.
“The desire was for them to fit into the neighborhood, not become an eyesore,” Hannahs said.
Chris Winters: 425-374-4165; cwinters@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @Chris_At_Herald.
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