What route should new Smokey Point bus route take through Marysville?

MARYSVILLE — Community Transit wants to hear from the public on its newest bus rapid transit system running from Everett Station to the Smokey Point Transit Center.

The Gold Line, running about 15 miles, is expected to launch in 2029. Before that, however, the transit agency needs to figure out the exact route the line will take.

Community Transit has three options, and wants to know what people think.

All of them include a somewhat set-in-stone route from Everett Station, up Highway 529 and then into Marysville. Once in Marysville, that’s where the three routes differ.

• Option A goes north up State Avenue and Smokey Point Boulevard, before turning on 136th Street NE, and then connecting to 51st Avenue.

• Option B routes up State Avenue, turns onto Shoultes Road, before continuing on 51st Avenue.

• Option C turns on Grove Street and then turns on 51st Avenue.

“We want to get feedback from folks on benefits and costs of different alternatives,” said Christopher Silveira, who manages Community Transit’s bus rapid transit system. “So that way, we can get a sense of where do people lean, what information people can provide that maybe we haven’t seen in our own reviews.”

All three routes will take 51st Avenue NE and 172nd Street NE toward the Smokey Point Transit Center. All three routes have benefits and drawbacks, Community Transit officials said.

Option A would give riders access to many Marysville businesses. Many places along the route include sidewalks.

But Community Transit said it could also be slower. A railroad crossing on the route could cause delays.

The railway is, “a constraining factor that will make it more challenging to place stations, particularly on the west side of the road,” Silveira said.

It also doesn’t service residential neighborhoods to the level of other options.

Option B is probably the fastest, most direct route. It runs through both residential and commercial development, but also has drawbacks. Bike lanes and sidewalks are limited along the route, and the northern portion is a two-lane road. Multi-lane roads make it easier for cars to maneuver around buses, which stop frequently.

Option C, meanwhile, runs through residential neighborhoods and also connects with schools. On the flip side, it provides less access to commercial services, other connections to transit and pedestrian and bike routes.

“People have points that they have to get from and then to, and then want to make sure that those accessibility options between those places are as convenient as possible,” Silveira said. “So certainly, having a path that’s closer to where more people live is also a factor. The downside of it is that there we start to shift away from some of the commercial aspects of the project.”

Community Transit is also looking at the possibility of bus-only lanes with this project. Bus stations could also sit in the middle of the road, examples of which can be found in cities across the country, including Indianapolis and Eugene, Oregon.

This lets bus rapid transit systems operate more like light rail and could be critical to easing congestion as the area grows. Marysville has grown rapidly over the last decade and Snohomish County’s population is expected to cross 1 million people by 2044.

While the Gold Line will serve Arlington, it’s slated to go no further than Smokey Point, where the city appears poised to build up with more tall, mixed-use buildings. Additionally, Community Transit hopes services like Zip Shuttle, which has found success near Alderwood Mall, could help get people to Gold Line.

Essentially a shared Uber, the shuttle provides on-demand rides. Community Transit’s board voted to continue the program last year and expand the pilot project to other locations.

Community Transit plans 20 to 27 new stations as part of the Gold Line route. Stations will be about ⅓-mile apart in dense areas and closer to a half-mile elsewhere. The number of stations — and their locations — will be determined after the agency chooses one of the three routes through Marysville.

Community Transit has a survey on its website and the public comment period runs through Aug. 7. The agency is hosting an open house on the project 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Aug. 1 at the Lakewood/Smokey Point Library.

Jordan Hansen: 425-339-3046; jordan.hansen@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @jordyhansen.