While it is commendable that the Washington State Department of Transportation wants to ensure drivers can navigate the median on the east side of Mill Creek Boulevard at Bothell-Everett Highway, the question that needs to be asked is, why now?
Why is the state willing to put in more striping and arrows into Mill Creek Boulevard to help people get through there now? Why wasn’t that done when the median was built last year?
Since the state installed what can be considered an experimental traffic control device at the intersection, wouldn’t it make more sense to anticipate possible problems up front and do everything you can to try and eliminate them before they become bothersome?
The upside of all this is there have been no accidents that can be attributed to driver confusion over the median. And this brings forth yet another question: If there haven’t been any accidents, is there really a problem at that intersection?
In these lean budgetary times, a project such as Mill Creek Boulevard, as small as it may be in terms of financial outlay, needs careful consideration. There are certainly other trouble spots on state roads that need safety solutions more than Mill Creek Boulevard.
None of this, however, would be necessary had the state put the median in the traditional location between the southbound turn lane and eastbound lanes. But since it’s in there residents and drivers better make the best of it.
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