Lynnwood wants to link up city’s existing paths into one trail

LYNNWOOD — A map of Lynnwood shows a city sliced by highways into sections.

Lynn Sordel and Jared Bond kept looking at that map. How could they better connect those sections?

Light rail is coming to Lynnwood, and they have maybe a decade to get the city ready. Transit officials estimate that at least 20,000 daily travelers will converge on the city to make use of the rail stop. They will need to be able to bike and walk and otherwise move around town. Cars won’t do.

What about a trail? The idea is germinating.

The proposed trail, tentatively called “Center to Sound,” would connect City Center, at I-5 and 196th Street SW, with the Meadowdale Beach Park trail leading to Puget Sound. For the most part, the new trail would follow Scriber Creek and link up existing ribbons of asphalt. They’re looking at a total distance of about four miles.

Sordel, the parks director, imagines the trail as a spine through Lynnwood, “a place to go or get somewhere,” he said. He managed the creation of a similar trail at his previous job in Florida.

“Consistently we’re hearing from our community that it’s important to be able to get around,” he said. “If we can create something like that, we have done something huge.”

Jared Bond, as the city’s environmental and surface water supervisor, helps manage flooding and drainage. He’d like the trail to allow more public access to the city’s streams and wetlands.

Mayor Nicola Smith and her husband, Del, took a tour of existing sections of the trail in May. Congressman Rick Larsen got his own brief tour during a stop in the city Tuesday.

In last month’s State of the City address, Smith called the completed trail “a future dream.”

“It’s such a great idea, I want to give it feet,” she said in a recent interview.

The mayor assigned a photography team — her husband and two family friends — to document the missing links in the trail. She sees the project as becoming a safe, pretty connection between neighborhoods, parks and schools.

“There’s a lot of community rallying around that,” Smith said. “This is what our community wants.”

The next step will be commissioning a study to lay out options for the exact trail path and to determine whether the project is possible.

The city already owns property north and south of the beach park, Sordel said, including the recent acquisition of 13 acres known as Seabrook Heights.

A few years ago, REI employee volunteers created a primitive path from the bottom of Lund’s Gulch that nearly reaches the county-owned Meadowdale Beach trail, Sordel said. That path would become part of the new trail.

The trail could provide a key transportation link for folks in the Meadowdale area and other parts of the city west of Highway 99, Sordel said. Crossing Highway 99, particularly in and between Lynnwood and Everett, is one of the most dangerous choices for pedestrians, according to accident data. A pedestrian bridge is on the table as part of the Center to Sound plan.

“It gets people moving and keeps them moving, safely,” Sordel said.

The trail also would go hand in hand with efforts to combat the flooding problems along Scriber Creek, Bond said. An ongoing study of Scriber Creek got Bond thinking.

The city owns patches of land throughout the creek’s corridor, and has an eye on future buyouts or easements for low-lying, flood-prone properties. Allowing access to those areas could give people a sense of stewardship over streams and wetlands, Bond said.

“I don’t want to just put a fence up and keep people out,” he said.

If the city decides to move ahead with the project, Bond and Sordel plan to pursue grant funding. The combined transportation and environmental aspects of the project should give them an edge, they said.

Rikki King: 425-339-3449; rking@heraldnet.com.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

Olivia Vanni / The Herald 
The Mukilteo Lighthouse. Built in 1906, it’s one of the most iconic landmarks in Snohomish County.
The Mukilteo Lighthouse. Built in 1906, it’s one of the most iconic landmarks in Snohomish County. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Mukilteo mayor vetoes council-approved sales tax

The tax would have helped pay for transportation infrastructure, but was also set to give Mukilteo the highest sales tax rate in the state.

Marysville Mayor Jon Nehring gives the state of the city address at the Marysville Civic Center on Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2024, in Marysville, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Marysville council approves interim middle housing law

The council passed the regulations to prevent a state model code from taking effect by default. It expects to approve final rules by October.

x
State audit takes issue with Edmonds COVID grant monitoring

The audit report covered 2023 and is the third since 2020 that found similar issues with COVID-19 recovery grant documentation.

Bothell
Bothell man pleads guilty to sexual abuse of Marysville middle schoolers

The man allegedly sexually assaulted three students in exchange for vapes and edibles in 2022. His sentencing is set for Aug. 29.

Larsen talks proposed Medicaid cuts during Compass Health stop in Everett

Compass Health plans to open its new behavioral health center in August. Nearly all of the nonprofit’s patients rely on Medicaid.

District 2 candidates differ in public safety approach

Incumbent Paula Rhyne is facing challenger Ryan Crowther. The third candidate, Jonathan Shapiro, is no longer seeking the seat.

From left to right, Edmonds City Council Position 3 candidates Joseph Ademofe, Alex Newman and Erika Barnett.
Amid budget crisis, Edmonds City Council candidates talk revenue, affordability

Three newcomers are facing off for Position 3 on the council, currently held by council President Neil Tibbott.

Community members gather for the dedication of the Oso Landslide Memorial following the ten-year remembrance of the slide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
The Daily Herald garners 6 awards from regional journalism competition

The awards recognize the best in journalism from media outlets across Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington.

Everett
Everett approves new fines for non-emergency lifts

The fire department will only issue fines for non-emergency lift assists at licensed care facilities, not for individuals at home calling 911.

Guns for sale at Caso’s Gun-A-Rama in Jersey City, New Jersey, which has been open since 1967. (Photo by Aristide Economopoulos/New Jersey Monitor)
After suing, WA gets carveout from Trump administration plan to return gun conversion devices

The Trump administration has agreed to not distribute devices that turn semi-automatic… Continue reading

The Wild Horse Wind and Solar Facility about 16 miles east of Ellensburg in central Washington is part of Puget Sound Energy’s clean energy portfolio. (Courtesy of Puget Sound Energy)
Megabill’s elimination of tax credits for clean energy projects could cost WA $8.7 billion

Washington households could see electricity costs increase $115 per year by 2029; 21,800 workers could lose their jobs by 2030, analysts say.

Everett mayor candidates focus on affordability, city budget in costly race

As incumbent Cassie Franklin seeks a third term in office, three candidates are looking to unseat her.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.