U.S. 2 looks less like a highway and more like a roller coaster to Fred Walser.
The speed limit jumps up and down between Monroe and Skykomish roughly a dozen times, hitting every 5-mph increment from 35 mph to 60 mph.
As chairman of the U.S. 2 Safety Coalition, Walser is interested in changing that. His group is proposing more uniform speed limits, so drivers know to travel 35 mph inside city and town limits and 55 mph outside.
“That would remove confusion on the part of the motorist, and make enforcement extremely easier,” said Walser, a former Washington State Patrol trooper.
State officials agree — to a point.
The state Department of Transportation may tweak speed limits this summer on three sections of the highway. They don’t plan to establish a uniform limit, however, saying that could cause more harm than good.
Over the last decade, 53 people have died on U.S. 2 between Snohomish and Stevens Pass. The safety coalition is a group of volunteers who came together to lobby for safety improvements on the dangerous highway.
The most recent death was in February, when corrections officer Bruce Ramsey was killed in a motorcycle accident at Rice Road. That’s a 50 mph zone. Some argue the limit should drop to 35 mph on that stretch, which lies inside Sultan.
Transportation officials say they aren’t considering speed limit changes there. A March traffic study by state engineers didn’t justify the lower limit.
That rankles Walser.
“There’s been, what, 19 crashes there since 2005. We’ve already had one fatality. We will have more,” he said.
DOT officials are looking at changes, including lowering the speed limit by between 5 mph and 15 mph along three sections of highway from Sultan to east of Gold Bar.
Traffic studies support those changes, said Lorena Eng, Northwest regional administrator for the Transportation Department.
The department modifies speed limits in part by measuring traffic. If the majority of people drive 50 mph, and that is safe given road conditions, then the department goes with 50 mph.
Signs alone won’t cause people to drive faster or slower, Eng said. If the speed limit is lowered to 35 mph rate on a rural straightaway, a few drivers may obey the posted limit but others will fly along at their usual pace.
“You get that erratic driving,” Eng said. “And that’s where you get problems.”
A uniform speed limit on U.S. 2 could make traffic enforcement easier, said Washington State Patrol trooper Keith Leary. An across-the-board change could lead to unforeseen consequences, however, causing confusion on other state highways, he said.
“Ultimately, people need to pay attention to the roads and watch the speed limit,” Leary said.
Walser agrees. More than anything, though, he wants the Transportation Department to explore the U.S. 2 Safety Coalition’s idea.
“If they think that the current system is OK, and maintains a certain flow of traffic and safety, then maybe we would buy into that,” Walser said. “But we need to talk about it more.”
Speed limits
The state Department of Transportation may change the speed limit this summer on three sections of U.S. 2. The changes would:
n Lower the speed limit from 40 mph to 35 mph in Gold Bar.
n Set the speed limit at 50 mph east of Gold Bar to Proctor Creek. The speed limit there goes from 50 mph to 55 mph.
n Extend the 35 mph section near Sultan Basin Road by a few hundred feet.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
