Proposal must be stopped in its tracks

I disagree with the plan to develop a large motocross racing facility on the Mountain Loop Highway. This track will create financial and safety burdens for Snohomish County residents, negatively impact the environment, the quality of life for residents, and current recreation visitors.

Other writers compare the Paul Thomas plan to Hannegan Speedway. The proposed track is located on a high plateau with mountains on three sides, which echo noise for miles. It is 21-plus miles from the nearest hospital and I-5. You must drive to the track on a two-lane road six miles from the nearest town, far from EMT and fire services. Traffic will cross a bridge so narrow that gravel trucks must pass through single file. Hannegan Speedway does not have these problems.

This track would be bigger than Hannegan. Developers are seeking a “world class racing organization for hosting local, regional and national race events.” They plan 76 acres with at least three large tracks, operating every day until 9 p.m.

ADVERTISEMENT
0 seconds of 0 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:00
00:00
 

The location of this track directly impacts several family recreational sites: One and a half miles west of the track is a long-established fishing and camping park visited by families and organizations like the Boy Scouts all year. One mile east of the track is the Old Robe Valley Trail. Noise, water and air pollution from this track will impact homes (less than 4,000 feet away), farms, businesses (a retreat center less than two miles away) and visitors on this National Scenic Byway. Racing motorcycles will make selling peace and quiet hard, to say the least.

Help protect and promote what we have: the natural beauty, peace and quiet of the Mountain Loop highway. Write your County Council member to protest this track!

Sharon Sheppard

Granite Falls

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Opinion

June 11, 2025: Tear Gaslighting
Editorial cartoons for Thursday, June 12

A sketchy look at the news of the day.… Continue reading

In a gathering similar to many others across the nation on Presidents Day, hundreds lined Broadway with their signs and chants to protest the Trump administration Monday evening in Everett. (Aaron Kennedy / Daily Herald)
Editorial: Let’s remember the ‘peaceably’ part of First Amendment

Most of us understand the responsibilities of free speech; here’s how we remind President Trump.

Will public get a vote on downtown Everett stadium?

I see The Herald is enthusiastic about the push to build a… Continue reading

How are Trump’s actions the ‘will of the people’?

Calling up the National Guard is usually done in concert with a… Continue reading

Call constitutional convention for balanced budget amendment

Congress has not managed the federal purse well. We have been running… Continue reading

Comment: So much for RFK Jr.’s pledge of ‘choice’ on vaccines

His latest action confirms his intention to delist specific vaccines, making them less affordable.

Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer testifies during a budget hearing before a House Appropriations subcommittee on Capitol Hill in Washington on Thursday, May 15, 2025. (Al Drago/The New York Times)
Editorial: Ending Job Corps a short-sighted move by White House

If it’s jobs the Trump administration hopes to bring back to the U.S., it will need workers to fill them.

A rendering of possible configuration for a new multi-purpose stadium in downtown Everett. (DLR Group)
Editorial: Latest ballpark figures drive hope for new stadium

A lower estimate for the project should help persuade city officials to move ahead with plans.

A rendering of the new vessels to be built for Washington State Ferries. (Washington State Ferries)
Editorial: Local shipyard should get shot to build state ferries

If allowed to build at least two ferries, Nichols Brothers can show the value building here offers.

THis is an editorial cartoon by Michael de Adder . Michael de Adder was born in Moncton, New Brunswick. He studied art at Mount Allison University where he received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in drawing and painting. He began his career working for The Coast, a Halifax-based alternative weekly, drawing a popular comic strip called Walterworld which lampooned the then-current mayor of Halifax, Walter Fitzgerald. This led to freelance jobs at The Chronicle-Herald and The Hill Times in Ottawa, Ontario.

 

After freelancing for a few years, de Adder landed his first full time cartooning job at the Halifax Daily News. After the Daily News folded in 2008, he became the full-time freelance cartoonist at New Brunswick Publishing. He was let go for political views expressed through his work including a cartoon depicting U.S. President Donald Trump’s border policies. He now freelances for the Halifax Chronicle Herald, the Toronto Star, Ottawa Hill Times and Counterpoint in the USA. He has over a million readers per day and is considered the most read cartoonist in Canada.

 

Michael de Adder has won numerous awards for his work, including seven Atlantic Journalism Awards plus a Gold Innovation Award for news animation in 2008. He won the Association of Editorial Cartoonists' 2002 Golden Spike Award for best editorial cartoon spiked by an editor and the Association of Canadian Cartoonists 2014 Townsend Award. The National Cartoonists Society for the Reuben Award has shortlisted him in the Editorial Cartooning category. He is a past president of the Association of Canadian Editorial Cartoonists and spent 10 years on the board of the Cartoonists Rights Network.
Editorial cartoons for Wednesday, June 11

A sketchy look at the news of the day.… Continue reading

Marcus Tageant (Courtesy of City of Lake Stevens)
Welch: Marcus Tageant embodied the spirit of Lake Stevens

I served with Marcus on the city council, witnessing an infectious devotion to his community.

Comment: Anti-‘woke’ crusades by Hegseth, Rubio petty, dangerous

Focused on renaming ships and scrubbing websites, the department heads risk their distraction.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.