STANWOOD – Rush hour in Stanwood used to be an oxymoron. It didn’t exist.
Now it’s a daily routine.
Everyday, cars back up on Highway 532 as workers head home to Stanwood and Camano Island.
Everyday, people call Mayor Dianne White complaining about congestion or roadwork, she said.
Today they will have a chance to complain to the people in charge.
Representatives from the state Department of Transportation plan to join state Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen, White and the City Council in a community-wide meeting to address transportation issues. The meeting is scheduled for 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. today at Stanwood Middle School, 9405 271st St. NW.
“It’s a way for citizens to ask questions, because there’s a lot of concern about that highway – highway speeds, coordination or lack thereof of the stoplights; things they’ve actually been working on but nobody realizes that,” White said. “So it’s a way to get the Department of Transportation to say, ‘It looks like we’re just spewing orange cans all over the place, but we’re really doing this and that.’”
In the last decade, traffic on Highway 532 has increased by 70 percent, said Travis Phelps, a spokesman for the Department of Transportation. In order to combat congestion and increase safety on the road, the DOT has embarked on an $88.6 million renovation of the road.
The series of projects is ongoing and is scheduled to conclude in 2013.
“This isn’t just a couple projects here and there,” he said. “We have money from the gas tax to improve the corridor from I-5 out to Camano Island.”
Department of Transportation officials are expected to outline the highway projects and plans for a new train station in Stanwood before answering questions tonight.
Design Stanwood, a group trying to shape the town’s future, organized the meeting. Treasurer Laura Byers said the group wants to give citizens a chance to talk to key players about the transportation projects that affect them.
“There’s a lot of opportunities in Stanwood for the community to have input into how we grow and how we develop and this is the perfect opportunity for them to come voice their opinions,” she said.
Reporter Kaitlin Manry: 425-339-3292 or kmanry@heraldnet.com.
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