Turn lane will help Speedway traffic

Published 10:52 pm Sunday, June 7, 2009

Robert Roseberry of Clinton asks: There are frequent northbound backups on Mukilteo Speedway (Highway 525) at the intersection of 88th Street SW, especially during the evening peak. When northbound left turns are attempted here, all through traffic must stop and wait just as long as any left turning vehicle does for an oncoming opening. This northbound approach has been given a right turn pocket.

The backups could be eliminated if the roadway width were used for a left turn pocket instead of a right turn pocket. This would free the through traffic of the left turning hindrance.

The right-turners would only cause slight slowdowns as they must yield only to the little pedestrian traffic crossing 88th on the east side.

State traffic engineer Mike Swires responds: The city of Mukilteo, with input from the state, is designing a project to improve the intersection. To smooth the flow of traffic, crews will add a dedicated left-turn pocket to this intersection. Through traffic and drivers turning right will no longer back up behind drivers waiting to make a left turn. The city of Mukilteo will fund both design and construction of this project. Drivers will see the change within the next year.

Abandoned vehicles

Chris Ann Scott of Everett asks: How long does a vehicle have to stay parked in one place on the street before I can report it as abandoned in the Everett city limits?

Everett city traffic engineer Dongho Chang responds:

Everett city law allows you to park a vehicle in the same location for up to 72 continuous hours. The vehicle must be parked in a legally permitted parking spot that does not have any parking restriction, such as time limits. You must move the vehicle through or across a street intersection after 72 hours.

Parking violations north of 41st Street may be reported at 425-257-8461.

Violations south of 41st Street may be reported at 425-257-7505.

Hazardous walking

Jerald Koontz of Everett asks: Has anyone considered the unsafe crosswalk at the northwest corner of the intersection of Evergreen Way and West Casino Road?

With traffic turning right onto West Casino Road on a green light, and pedestrians trying to use the crosswalk, it is only a matter of time before someone is hurt, or worse. Both cannot be safely activated at the same time.

I watched for about 20 minutes and noticed several people struggling to get drivers that were turning to stop long enough for them to get across the north side of the intersection (and I have personally experienced that struggle myself). There should really be a red light for the turn lane there when the “Walk” signal timer is activated.

Everett city traffic engineer Dongho Chang responds:

Thank you for the excellent observation and suggestion. We are working to improve pedestrian safety needs along Casino Road from Evergreen Way to Fifth Street. The highest need is at a crosswalk just west of Evergreen Way, where many walkers face the difficult task of crossing five lanes of traffic. We will install a traffic light at the crosswalk thanks to a safety grant that was awarded to Everett last month from the state.

We will also look at improving walker and bicyclist safety at the Casino Road and Evergreen Way as part of our safety project. We will consider your suggestions and other ideas that improve safety while keeping traffic flowing when we begin our design efforts this fall. We hope to have the work under construction next year.

I appreciate your note about the “Walk” signal timer. We have been diligently trying to improve walker safety in Everett. We started out installing several “timer” walk signals on Broadway near Comcast Arena a couple of years ago. Walkers told us that “timers” were very helpful and many walkers liked them because they could tell how much time they had to cross. This meant that they did not get stranded in the middle of a busy intersection.

We now have almost all of Everett equipped with these “timer” walk signals. These “timer” walk signals use 7-watt LED lights that replace 69-watt bulbs, saving the city $50,000 per year. Snohomish County PUD generously gave Everett $122,000 for this energy-saving project last winter. The city will pay for this safety improvement within two years from our electricity savings.

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