Everett building out bike network with 4 projects this year

EVERETT — Biking connections in Everett could get much simpler and safer through a few million dollars in projects by the end of the year, city staff hope.

Contractor crews this week started redoing the roadway along Madison Street to add bike lanes.

Something similar is under way on Fleming Street, a north-south parallel just west of Evergreen Way.

The city plans improvements for a short, hilly stretch between downtown and the current Everett Station transit hub in a project called the Wall Street Connector ahead of light rail’s arrival.

Then later this year the city is set to install more bike wayfinding signs across Everett.

“I’m really excited to see the progress we’re making on our Bicycle Master Plan, bringing additional bicycle infrastructure to the city and creating new connections between neighborhoods and job centers,” Mayor Cassie Franklin said in a statement. “Encouraging non-motorized transportation is one way we are reducing our environmental impact and moving our city toward a greener future.”

Madison Street’s pavement overlay project initially proposed removing on-street parking to make room for bike lanes. That upset some people along Madison Street and staff eventually shifted the plan.

Now Madison’s roadway will be restriped to keep on-street parking but remove the center left turn lane between Colby Avenue and Lower Ridge Road. Some of the parking and vehicle lanes along Madison will be smaller to make room for bike lanes between 5 and 6 feet wide.

On-street parking is being reconsidered by some transportation professionals because of the land’s value for other uses and in the fight against climate change, as reported by The Guardian in 2021.

Fleming Street is getting the city’s first “bike boulevard.” It’s similar to a road with a bicycle symbol painted on it, except this one gets traffic calming through narrower lanes, small traffic islands and removing centerline striping.

In recent Everett City Council meetings, some residents along College Avenue and Fleming Street opposed the project and said they were disappointed the city did not notify them of it earlier in the design and conception.

Erin Webber said she and her neighbors were upset after learning about it in April. Traffic islands near some intersections could become unsightly if weeds grow in them, she said.

“There’s things put in for speeding, we don’t have a speeding problem,” Webber told the council May 3. “The islands that are being put in don’t seem to be necessary and think they’re going to cause more problems. Our street doesn’t seem to be busy enough for all these things. … I’m all for the environment and for people riding their bike, I just don’t think these changes are necessary because we’re a residential street, we don’t have that much traffic.”

Jim Hagglund said he walks along College Avenue and Fleming Street every day and was worried about narrowing the road, especially where the traffic islands go.

“Imagine somebody putting something in the street right in front of your house, that you didn’t know about,” Hagglund said. “That’s really going to change the neighborhood.”

Everett city engineer Tom Hood said the city typically gets only positive comments on traffic calming in neighborhoods, especially along residential streets like Fleming. But he and other public works staff plan to do outreach on projects “regardless of impact” in the future so residents know about it earlier, Hood said.

After meeting with some Fleming residents, city staff adjusted design for some of the traffic island alignments, Hood said.

The Wall Street connector is set for light poles along its path between downtown and Everett Station. The route would follow Wall Street on either side of Broadway, then along Smith Avenue, under the Pacific Avenue overpass, and to the station. It is a gentler slope than huffing up Pacific.

A new crossing system for pedestrians will use a video to detect when someone wants to traverse Broadway. Hood and active transportation engineer Christina Anna Curtis said they believe it will be the first such technology deployed in Snohomish County.

Green bike wayfinding signs are bound for routes across Everett. One of the longest stretches will be Mukilteo Boulevard from 41st Street west to city limits. The signs feature a bike symbol, popular destinations such as downtown, Everett Station and the Interurban Trail, and an arrow in their direction.

Ben Watanabe: 425-339-3037; bwatanabe@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @benwatanabe.