MUKILTEO – City Councilman Marko Liias still remembers the chaos of scores of teenage drivers squeezing through the same driveway to leave Kamiak High School.
By fall, those days may be over.
The city of Mukilteo has required the school to add a new road from its student parking lot. The $400,000 project was required because the school added six portable classrooms.
As of now, all three driveways for the school’s main parking areas are on Harbour Pointe Boulevard. The new road would give students the option of getting in and out on Chennault Beach Road.
“This is something that should have been done originally, and wasn’t for whatever reason,” said Liias, a 1999 Kamiak graduate. “I’m so happy the staff and school district officials were able to find agreement on this and get this project underway.”
Construction is planned for late spring and summer. The work could be finished by fall.
The new road is needed to accommodate the school’s growing population, Principal Keith Rittel said. Kamiak has 2,100 students.
“The fact is the growth has really impacted traffic and parking,” Rittel said.
Liias said he never saw any pedestrian accidents at the school. However, he said the parking situation – with so many parents, buses and student drivers in close proximity – wasn’t safe for anyone.
Fender-benders were common during his days in school, Liias said.
“The city has been trying to encourage the school district to do this for several years,” he said.
The school is still determining how to best use the new access road. For instance, the road could be one way in the morning, and the opposite direction in the afternoon. Or, it could become a bus-only road, Rittel said.
“It certainly will make it easier to get in and out of the parking lot,” said Andy Muntz, a school district spokesman. “There will still be the same number of parking spots. Parking is an issue there and probably always will be.”
Reporter Scott Pesznecker: 425-339-3436 or spesznecker@heraldnet.com.
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