A crowd of more than 50 enthusiastic citizens joined city staff, consultants and elected officials Thursday evening to give their input to the City of Edmonds plan to revitalize the Highway 99 corridor.

Mayor Dave Earling welcomed the group, reminding them of the $10 million in the recently-passed state transportation package earmarked for Highway 99, and the opportunity it provides to complete this vital project. He went on to stress the need to recognize that the people living, working and conducting business along the Highway 99 corridor are an integral part of the Edmonds community, and that a key goal of this project is “making our two-mile piece of Highway 99 one continuous neighborhood.”

“We’re here tonight to ask your help in shaping this project,” said John Fregonese, president of Fregonese Associates, the Portland-based urban and regional planning firm retained by the City of Edmonds to oversee the project. “This is your chance to tell us what’s important to you as we move forward to make this area a vital and sustaining part of the community.” He then led the group through an electronically-facilitated multiple-choice question-and-answer session designed to instantly identify group demographics and assess priorities on issues including housing, transportation, density and amenities.

Project manager Alex Joyce then gave the group an overview of the area, outlining existing sidewalk coverage, crosswalks, transit services, mix of uses, safety statistics, average building age, and more (see PowerPoint presentation here).

The group next divided into six break-out tables, where they found large maps of the project area and an collection of markers and stickers representing such things as crosswalks, highway medians, buildings, and traffic lights. Each group then took 30 minutes to “build” their vision of the Edmonds Highway 99 corridor on paper, after which each table reported back on what they had done.

While each group had its own particular take on Highway 99’s future, some common themes emerged. All groups identified public transportation and pedestrian access/safety as top issues, citing particularly the lack of safe street crossings.

“Right now there are stretches that go for many blocks with no pedestrian crossing,” said group spokesperson Josh Thompson. “Rather than walk to safe crossing, many people just dart across the highway, putting themselves and motorists at risk.”

This was echoed by group spokesperson Megan Woodward, who pointed out the need for “wider sidewalks and better lighting,” and by Kacie McCarty, who asked for “better access to the (Mountlake Terrace) Park and Ride.”

Other suggestions included replacing the several mini-storage facilities with people-oriented businesses like restaurants, adding more senior and affordable housing, and creating a “boulevard effect” of mixed businesses and residences connected by wider, well-lit sidewalks, median strips and crosswalks that would “break up the ribbon of asphalt” that exists today.

The next step in the process is for the consultants to take the ideas generated at the workshop and incorporate them into several alternative plans. These will be presented at a future workshop to be scheduled in late spring or early summer for further public comment and refinement.

More information is available on the City of Edmonds Highway 99 Subarea Project Planning webpage. A video of this meeting will be available on My Edmonds News in the near future.

— Story and photos by Larry Vogel