By Sharon Salyer
Herald Writer
LAKE STEVENS — Residents will get another chance Wednesday to ask questions about a revised plan for the county’s $7.4 million project to widen and extend Lundeen Parkway near Lake Stevens.
There are two parts to the project. First, it would extend Lundeen Parkway from its dead end to Highway 204. Second, the section of the road between Highway 9 and 12th Place NE would be widened.
The preferred plan calls for a two-lane road with a center-turn lane for the length of the project, which will connect Highway 9 and Highway 204.
During an open house in November, some residents were concerned about the proposal to have a four-lane road, said Sam Filetti, project manager in the county’s Public Works Department.
Designers took another look at the plan and found that a two-lane road with a center-turn lane would be adequate.
"We responded to the public comment," Filetti said.
The project also calls for bicycle lanes, curbs, gutters and sidewalks. The speed limit would be 35 mph.
Plans call for the two-year construction project to begin in 2003.
The existing Lundeen Parkway from Highway 9 west to 12th Place NE is a two-lane road with 8-foot shoulders. It provides local access to the Parkway Crossing housing development.
An open house will be held from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Wednesdayon the 1.2-mile project. The open house will be at Sunnycrest Elementary School. The public has until Jan. 26 to comment.
Some residents said they were concerned about increased traffic caused by the road extension and the possibility that it would attract truck traffic.
"They’re also concerned with the added amount of traffic and how it pertains to their children along the street waiting for a bus or going back and forth," Filetti said.
Two new traffic signals with pedestrian crossings are proposed at 10th Place NE and 15th Street NE, he said.
The plan also calls for:
Grass-lined swales and detention ponds will be used to help filter roadway runoff. The northern end of Lundeen Parkway will drain into Sunnyside Creek while the southern end will drain into Weiser Creek.
About one-third of an acre of wetlands and 2.84 acres of wetland buffer will be eliminated by the construction project. Other wetlands will be created in the Snohomish River basin as mitigation, Filetti said.
Approximately three acres of forested vegetation will be cleared and an existing bald eagle nest could be affected, a summary environmental impact statement says.
The plan calls for the public works department to coordinate with federal and state Fish and Wildlife Department officials to determine possible restrictions for construction in the vicinity of the bald eagle nest.
Five current homes and 17 future homes in the Heleena Hills development would experience increased traffic noise levels, the project’s environment impact statement adds.
Currently, during evening rush hour, about 150 cars use Lundeen Parkway each day, Filetti said. That will increase to about 300 cars a day when the project is completed.
About 6.5 acres of land is needed for the project. Public Works has purchased about 83 percent of the property.
You can call Herald Writer Sharon Salyer at 425-339-3486
or send e-mail to salyer@heraldnet.com.
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