Sharon Carlson of Tulalip writes: I have questioned why they don’t put off-and-on ramps at 136th Street NE and I-5, just north of 116th, that would take a lot of traffic off of 116th.
Meghan Pembroke, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Transportation, replies: We hear from many drivers
who are concerned about congestion on I-5 in the Arlington area. This area has seen a lot of growth in recent years, and we are doing what we can to improve traffic flow.
In 2009, we completed our interchange improvement project at I-5 and 172nd Street NE (Highway 531) in Smokey Point. We ha
ve already seen better traffic flow through that area since we opened the new and improved ramps to drivers two summers ago. You can find out more about the project on our Web page: http://tinyurl.com/3jmcrqo.
As this time, we do not have plans to add another off-ramp or interchange on I-5 between 116th Street NE and 172nd Street NE. However, the city of Marysville has plans to add a second access to the Lakewood Crossing commercial area. The city recently began construction on a bridge over I-5 at 156th Street NE that will connect Twin Lakes Avenue and Smokey Point Boulevard. The city of Marysville’s public works department will have more information on their plans for the 156th Street NE overcrossing.
Errol Wilkins of Snohomish writes: I have a problem with warning lights on Highway 522 at the Paradise Lake interchange.
On U.S. 2 between Wenatchee and Leavenworth there are six stoplights on a section that runs at highway speeds. On either side of these lights are warning lights prior to the lights that start flashing when the light is going from green to red. These warning lights are timed such that if you are abreast of them when they begin flashing, and you are driving the speed limit, you know the light will change to red by the time you get to it. This allows traffic to be warned ahead of time and it can slow down prior to the light and avert abrupt stops from 50 mph.
These work great. The lights on Highway 522 on either side of the Paradise Lake interchange flash all the time — this section of road is 60 mph. Why can’t these lights be set up the same as the lights mentioned above on U.S. 2? I realize that on this section of 522 there is good visibility, but it would really be safer to have that additional warning. As it is now — with the lights flashing all the time — I think drivers get use to them and really don’t pay as much attention as they would if they were normally off and started flashing.
Pembroke of the transportation department responds: This is a question we’re asked from time to time. We are not currently using these signs on a widespread basis in Washington state because they can have tradeoffs in terms of safety.
National studies have shown that collision rates at signals with activated warning flashers are about 10 percent higher than intersections that have continuously operating flashers. With a signal-activated warning light, drivers can become conditioned to react to the warning light, rather than the signal itself. This could increase the risk of a serious collision at the intersection if the warning lights lose power or become inactive for some other reason. Additional observations have shown that when drivers see that the warning flashers have activated, they tend to speed up to try to make it through the signal. Again, this leads to the possibility of serious high-speed collisions.
The signs currently on Highway 522 are designed to let drivers know that they are approaching a signal; we have similar signs on U.S. 2 and Highway 9. The sign reminds drivers to use caution and to be prepared to stop at any time. We are currently testing the signal-activated warning lights on a very limited basis at several intersections across the state. Once we have reviewed the results we will decide whether to expand the study to other routes.
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