Mini-city developments proposed by Snohomish County would make congestion unbearable on U.S. 2 and may make the two-lane highway more dangerous, a grass-roots group says.
“It’s a prescription for gridlock,” said Sultan Police Chief Fred Walser, who leads the U.S. 2 Safety Coalition along with his wife, Monroe Mayor Donnetta Walser. The group includes Sultan officials and local residents.
County officials are leaning toward allowing mini-cities to be built in rural areas, with up to 15,000 people living in them, according to county plans. County policies could be decided this month. A developer has been exploring such a mini-city near Lake Roesiger, a rural area northeast of Snohomish.
The mini-cities are supposed to include job-supporting businesses for residents, but they likely will start with just housing. That means more traffic and a devastating effect on U.S. 2, the safety coalition told County Council members last week.
“There is no alternative for traffic but to funnel out through U.S. 2” in the Sky Valley area, Donnetta Walser said.
County Councilman Jeff Sax, who represents east Snohomish County, wasn’t available for comment.
Dave Somers, who will replace Sax in January, said he sympathizes with the safety coalition and would like to work to make business pay for transportation improvements in the area. “I have great concerns for these (mini-cities),” he said.
Traffic on the highway already is bad, the Walsers said.
Since 1990, the population has tripled in the three key cities along U.S. 2: Monroe, Sultan and Gold Bar. Together, they’ve grown from 7,600 to about 23,000 people.
Monroe has grown the third fastest of any city in the county the past 15 years. The city has about 16,000 people, nearly four times the population it had in 1990.
And more people means more cars.
From 1994 to 2004, daily traffic on U.S. 2 in Monroe grew 68 percent – from 22,000 cars to 37,000 cars, according to traffic counts by the state Department of Transportation.
Farther east, traffic growth has been slower. In Sultan, about 20,000 cars used the highway each day in 2004, up from 15,000 in 1993. About 8,000 cars drive U.S. 2 in Gold Bar, an increase of 700 since 1993.
Sultan has come out firmly against the mini-city idea. Mayor Ben Tolson said such development could work out, but he has reservations about the plan.
“The issue is premature. The ordinance doesn’t specifically address transportation impact on surrounding communities,” he said.
No major improvement on U.S. 2 is on the way. The list of projects that will be paid for by the state’s 9.5-cent-a-gallon gas tax increase doesn’t include any on U.S. 2. “It certainly should be a priority,” Fred Walser said.
In November, the closure of I-90 because of a rock slide sent many vehicles to U.S. 2 and led to extensive backups. That illustrates the need to improve the two-lane highway, he said.
| 15,000: The maximum number of people who could live in mini-cities in rural areas, according to Snohomish County proposals.
23,000: The number of people in Monroe, Sultan and Gold Bar, triple the 7,600 in 1990. 37,000: The number of cars daily on U.S. 2 in Monroe in 2004, up 68 percent from 22,000 in 1994. 0: The number of improvements on U.S. 2 the 9.5-cent-a- gallon gas tax increase will pay for. $500,000: The amount of a federal grant that will help develop a plan for projects to improve U.S. 2. |
Walser started the safety coalition in the late 1990s after several fatal accidents. His assistant was one of the victims.
In 2004, there were no fatal accidents on the highway. The change is the result of extensive patrols by the State Patrol and local police agencies combined with good luck, Fred Walser said.
Meanwhile, the safety coalition has secured a $500,000 federal grant and $100,000 from Puget Sound Regional Council, a regional government entity, to develop a plan for the next 18 months to identify specific steps and projects to improve U.S. 2, Walser said. But the group needs more money to actually make projects happen, he said.
Reporter Yoshiaki Nohara: 425-339-3029 or ynohara@heraldnet.com.
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