Angela Steck of Snohomish writes: As a parent of a Penny Creek Elementary student, I was excited to see the new traffic light at the intersection of 39th Avenue SE and 132nd Street SE (Highway 96), leading into Archbishop Murphy High School.
Currently, there are three exits out of Penny Creek Elementary onto 132nd Street SE and two of those exits are right turn only. Many Penny Creek families live to the east of Penny Creek Elementary. During the mornings and afternoons, traffic on 132nd is so congested that most parents who want to go eastbound on 132nd Street SE are forced to take a right turn out of the school parking heading west on 132nd and driving out of their way to eventually reach their destination.
To ease this traffic and safety issue, there needs to be a legal U-turn option for those of us forced to go westbound but wanting to be eastbound on 132nd.
Bronlea Mishler of the transportation department responds: During peak travel times, we understand that turning from 39th Ave SE onto Highway (132nd Street SE) can be challenging. However, we have no plans to install a U-turn sign at this intersection.
State law (RCW 46.61.295) allows drivers to legally make U-turns so long as the turn can be made safely and without interfering with other traffic. The city of Mill Creek is in the early stages of planning a project that will add a fourth leg to this intersection. Once built, it will allow drivers to more easily make westbound to eastbound U-turns.
Bill Bledsoe of Everett writes: I live in Everett and am on the board of our local homeowners association. We have a very busy cut-through street with a park on it. We have had so many close calls with children trying to cross the street or chasing a ball, that we really need to get a raised crosswalk installed on this street to slow down traffic.
We’ve seen them in other parts of Everett (actually, right near us) but there’s little or no way to know how to go about getting one.
We have made contact in the past with the police department and they have run some patrols but, we would prefer a longer term solution like the raised crosswalk.
Dongho Chang, traffic engineer for the city of Everett, responds: Everett has a Transportation Advisory Committee that reviews traffic safety concerns.
The committee meets at 8:15 a.m. the third Thursday of each month at 3200 Cedar St. There is no meeting held in December and July. The committee’s next meeting is scheduled for Jan. 20.
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