Cities to figure Highway 9 needs

LAKE STEVENS — Two major highways run all the way through Snohomish County north and south: I-5 and Highway 9.

One gets loads of attention. The other, not so much.

With that in mind, city leaders from along Highway 9 plan to meet again Wednesday morning to talk about ways to win funding and relieve traffic on the road.

Snohomish Mayor Randy Hamlin and Lake Stevens Mayor Vern Little will co-chair the meeting, the group’s second ever.

The cities plan to use their combined clout to lobby for a series of projects on Highway 9 that have been drafted by the state Department of Transportation.

“We need to all get together and decide what’s best for the Highway 9 corridor, and prioritize it,” Little said. “The best thing is to all be on the same page … so we don’t have competing things.”

At the upcoming meeting, the community leaders will tackle points both small and large. The agenda includes a review of the group’s letterhead, as well as a discussion of strategies and actions to take in 2010.

Andy Rathbun: 425-339-3455, arathbun@heraldnet.com.

Highway meeting

Community leaders are expected to talk about their strategies to win funding for Highway 9 during their second meeting at 9 a.m. Wednesday at the Lake Stevens School District administrative offices, 12309 22nd St. NE, Lake Stevens.