Edmonds to request $1 million for study on traffic problems

EDMONDS — City officials plan to ask the Legislature for $1 million during the next session for a study of how to help solve long-standing traffic issues on the city’s waterfront.

All it takes is one trip to Edmonds to see the problems.

Railroad tracks run down the west side of the city near the shoreline. Passengers who want to take the Edmonds-Kingston ferry have to cross those tracks to board the boat, as do people who want to access the beach, pier and other waterfront areas.

With normal traffic patterns, about 40 trains go through the city each day. That shuts down access to the city’s waterfront for about two hours a day, said Phil Williams, the city’s public works director.

If a train breaks down in the area, which happens at least occasionally, it can leave people stranded on either side of the tracks for an hour or more, Mayor Dave Earling said.

Traffic entering the city from the north and south to catch a ferry used by 3.8 million walk-on passengers and drivers each year creates its own long waits and traffic snarls.

The city has been trying to find answers to the waterfront traffic issues for years, spurring the request for state money to pay for a study of how to help solve the issues, Earling said.

“It could be an underpass, overpass, a trench or any number of things,” Earling said.

The latest suggestion: Build a trench from Dayton to Main streets to allow trains to pass through the city below grade and traffic to pass over. It is proffered by two local residents, Chuck and Katherine Gold, who developed a website, Edmonds Train Trench, to outline their proposal.

Gus Melonas, a spokesman for BNSF Railway, said his company would have to review an official proposal on the trench before he could comment on it.

The Golds could not be reached for comment. Earling said he would meet with them after the July 4 holiday to discuss their idea again.

Earling said he’s received emails from residents wanting the city to study just the trench idea. But the city needs “a good, conclusive answer” on what action to take, because any of the three alternatives would be complicated, he said.

Earling said a study of transportation alternatives is needed because daily train traffic is expected to increase significantly by 2030, just 16 years away.

“If we approach the 100 projected trains, we would have to shut down access to the waterfront and the state highway leading to the ferry for an estimated four and a half hours in a 24-hour period,” Earling said.

“Four hours would be untenable,” he said. It would mean limited access to the underwater dive park, the port and the senior center.

The city made a similar request for planning money for transportation issues during the last legislative session, but like other transportation spending issues, it foundered.

The heads of legislative committees working on transportation issues “understand the challenges we’re facing,” Earling said. “We hope to find some way to get the money this session.”

If the city gets the money to undertake the study, it could take about 18 months to reach a decision on the best alternative to relieve downtown congestion, Williams said.

“I think there will be a significant public process associated with this,” he said, including outreach to the community and public hearings.

Sharon Salyer: 425-339-3486 or salyer@heraldnet.com.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

Everett mall renderings from Brixton Capital. (Photo provided by the City of Everett)
Topgolf at the Everett Mall? Mayor’s hint still unconfirmed

After Cassie Franklin’s annual address, rumors circled about what “top” entertainment tenant could be landing at Everett Mall.

Everett
Everett man sentenced to 3 years of probation for mutilating animals

In 2022, neighbors reported Blayne Perez, 35, was shooting and torturing wildlife in north Everett.

Dorothy Crossman rides up on her bike to turn in her ballot  on Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Everett leaders plan to ask voters for property tax increase

City officials will spend weeks hammering out details of a ballot measure, as Everett faces a $12.6 million deficit.

Starbucks employee Zach Gabelein outside of the Mill Creek location where he works on Friday, Feb. 23, 2024 in Mill Creek, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Mill Creek Starbucks votes 21-1 to form union

“We obviously are kind of on the high of that win,” store bargaining delegate Zach Gabelein said.

Lynnwood police respond to a collision on highway 99 at 176 street SW. (Photo provided by Lynnwood Police)
Police: Teen in stolen car flees cops, causes crash in Lynnwood

The crash blocked traffic for over an hour at 176th Street SW. The boy, 16, was arrested on felony warrants.

The view of Mountain Loop Mine out the window of a second floor classroom at Fairmount Elementary on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
County: Everett mining yard violated order to halt work next to school

At least 10 reports accused OMA Construction of violating a stop-work order next to Fairmount Elementary. A judge will hear the case.

Imagine Children's Museum's incoming CEO, Elizabeth "Elee" Wood. (Photo provided by Imagine Children's Museum)
Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett to welcome new CEO

Nancy Johnson, who has led Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett for 25 years, will retire in June.

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.