Pedestrian safety improvements under way near schools

EVERETT — Children can now walk to Seattle Hill Elementary School along hundreds of feet of sidewalk that didn’t exist until this year.

The school southeast of Everett is among more than a dozen elementaries in unincorporated Snohomish County to benefit from a round of pedestrian-safety improvements in 2014. A similar number of projects are in the pipeline for 2015.

“It’s wonderful — we are so appreciative of what the county is doing,” Seattle Hill Principal Paula Nelson said.

A contractor filled in sidewalk gaps along 51st Avenue SE, the main road outside Nelson’s school. Before that, the school had tried unsuccessfully to scare up grant money to pay for building sidewalks.

The work is part of the county’s “Safe Kids, Improved Pathway Program” — “SKIP” for short. Executive John Lovick announced the initiative in the fall of 2013. It’s funded with 1 percent of the county’s annual road levy and totals about $550,000 per year. School districts and the Sheriff’s Office are helping to coordinate the work.

“I’ve heard a lot of positive feedback,” county engineer Owen Carter said.

The county has drawn up a six-year project list, Carter said. Specific projects are subject to change according to weather conditions, funding and contractor availability.

In all, the Public Works Department has identified 33 elementary schools in unincorporated parts of the county that have inadequate sidewalks. Within a mile of those schools, there are a combined 430 miles of roadway without adequate sidewalks or shoulders, county engineers have estimated. School buses generally don’t serve students who live within a mile of their school.

“We are working hard on designing and getting our projects for 2015 under way,” Carter said.

In 2014, the county oversaw sidewalk and shoulder improvements at Cedar Wood Elementary near Bothell, Chain Lake Elementary near Monroe, Cougar Creek Elementary near Arlington, Discovery Elementary in south Everett, Jefferson Elementary in the Eastmont neighborhood outside Everett, Machias Elementary, Odyssey Elementary in south Everett, Salem Woods Elementary northeast of Monroe and Totem Falls Elementary east of Mill Creek.

Other schools received flashing traffic beacons and electronic speed limit signs.

While Nelson said the Seattle Hill community is happy with the sidewalk improvements so far, there’s more to come: installing flashing beacons in front of the school this summer and additional improvements along 51st Avenue in 2016.

Other pedestrian projects are planned near schools throughout the county.

Noah Haglund: 425-339-3465; nhaglund@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @NWhaglund.

Projects

Upcoming pedestrian-safety projects will target schools in unincorporated Snohomish County:

• Cathcart Elementary: shoulder paving on the west side of 83rd Avenue NE. Fall 2015.
• Cedar Woods Elementary: shoulder paving on the north side of 169th Street SE. Filling in various sidewalk gaps. Summer to fall 2015.
• Cougar Creek Elementary: new shoulder on east side of 11th Avenue NE. Fall 2015.
• Hilltop Elementary: shoulder paving on the north side of Hubbard Road. Fall 2015.
• Hazelwood Elementary: shoulder widening on the south side of 204th Street SW. Summer 2015.
• Jefferson Elementary: new sidewalks and shoulder paving on south side of Burley Drive near Goblin Lane. Fall 2015.
• Kokanee Elementary: new shoulder on the east side of 51st Avenue SE. Summer 2015.
• Maltby Elementary: Extend shoulder on west side of 99th Avenue SE; build new shoulders along the west side of 98th Avenue SE; widen shoulder on south side of 212th Street SE; install flashing beacon at 99th Avenue SE and 215th Place. Spring to fall 2015.
• Oak Heights Elementary: shoulder paving on the east side of 18th Avenue W and flashing beacons at dedicated school crossings. Summer to fall 2015.
• Odyssey Elementary: shoulder paving on the north side of Gibson Road. Fall 2015.
• Picnic Point Elementary: install flashing beacons at two school crossings on 140th Street SW. Summer 2015.
• Seattle Hill Elementary: install flashing beacons at the dedicated school crossing on 51st Avenue SE. Summer 2015.
• Silver Firs Elementary: install flashing beacons at school crossings on Silver Firs Drive and Puget Park Drive. Summer 2015.
• Totem Falls Elementary: install flashing beacons at a school crossing on Snohomish Cascade Drive. Summer 2015

Construction dates are estimates and subject to change. For more details, go to Snohomish County’s website, www.snoco.org, and search for “safe kids.”