Lynnwood’s 168th Street doesn’t need new bike lanes

I oppose the changes on Lynnwood’s 168th Street to add raised bike lanes and multi-use paths.

Here’s why:

This is a heavily traveled route for commuters, workers, taxpayers and parents delivering students to schools and going about our lives with minimal hassle.

This proposal will restrict traffic flow on a busy route.

The school speed cameras and speed zones already cover safety issues at the high school and at the grade school.

There are very few consistent bicycles we’ve observed daily and year-round. We’ve lived here for 20-plus years, traveled this road daily and have not noticed many bicycle or other accidents or deaths on this route. This looks like a solution looking for a problem. It looks like we are changing the needs of a majority to serve the needs of a minority.

Is the city “grant-chasing”? Just because grants are out there, do we need to have others locally or in the state pay for our perceived “problems”?

We have nice sidewalks and a wide street for efficient traffic flow.

A ‘nice to have” is not always a critical safety need.

168th Street is not Highway 99. Highway 99 is where the real safety issues are. Cyclists or mostly pedestrians running across Highway 99 with poor lighting.

Let’s balance actual risks with what works with valid statistics and sensible spending.

Rompa Collioni

Lynnwood