Wait for Snohomish bridge redesign before Second Street changes

Attention all east county motorists who commute through Snohomish to the major job centers using Airport Way and/or the Snohomish-Lowell River Road.

Snohomish Mayor John Kartak is promoting the revamping of Second Street from Highway 9 to Pine Avenue. His purpose is to encourage more bicyclist and pedestrian usage while discouraging motorists from using the street as a major arterial to and from the job centers in Everett, Paine Field and King County.

The mayor’s project manager, Denise Johns, during the May 24 public meeting, indicated she hoped construction would begin in 2020, irrespective of the state Department of Transportation’s final Higway 9 new Snohomish River bridge design, expected to be completed the same year.

The city has placed the cart before the horse. Whatever design the state and Snohomish County finalize is what should drive the redesign of Second Street.

For example, onramps and offramps from Highway 9 and Snohomish-Lowell River Road, if any, will have a huge impact on commuting motorists.

Mayor Kartak and the city council are making another bad decision bulldozing ahead now instead of waiting for the state’s and county’s final design at the bridge over the Snohomish River and the Snohomish-Lowell River Road.

Morgan Davis

Snohomish

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