Transportation Element - Official Website | Official Website

EVERETT COMPREHENSIVE PLAN

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. INTRODUCTION..................................................................................................... 1

A. Transportation Element of the 1994 Comprehensive Plan .............................................................. 1

B. Transportation Element – 2006 Update ............................................................................................ 1

II. EXISTING TRANSPORTATION CONDITIONS ........................................... 4

A. Modes of Travel ................................................................................................................................... 4 1. Modal Split Objectives ..................................................................................................................... 4 2. Commute Trip Reduction Program .................................................................................................. 4

B. Vehicular Transportation Services .................................................................................................... 5 1. Roadway Infrastructure .................................................................................................................... 5 2. Traffic Demands ............................................................................................................................. 11 3. Levels of Service ............................................................................................................................ 11 4. Local Traffic Control and Parking Management ............................................................................ 14

C. Public Transportation Services ........................................................................................................ 14 1. Public Transportation Infrastructure ............................................................................................... 14 2. Passenger Transportation Routes and Capacity .............................................................................. 17 3. Public Transportation Level of Service .......................................................................................... 19 4. Public Transportation Ridership ..................................................................................................... 19

D. Non-Motorized Transportation Services......................................................................................... 23 1. Bicycle Facilities ............................................................................................................................ 23 2. Pedestrian Facilities ........................................................................................................................ 26 3. Special Pedestrian Zones ................................................................................................................ 26

E. Freight and Other Transportation Services ................................................................................... 26 1. Truck Routes .................................................................................................................................. 26 2. Rail Facilities.................................................................................................................................. 30 3. Marine and Air Facilities ................................................................................................................ 30

III. TRANSPORTATION GOAL, OBJECTIVES, AND POLICIES .................. 32

A. Goal and Objectives of the Transportation Element ..................................................................... 32

B. Principles and Policies of the Transportation Objectives .............................................................. 32

IV. TRANSPORTATION IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY ............................... 44

A. Multi-Modal Management Transportation Strategy ..................................................................... 44 1. CTR Program ................................................................................................................................. 47 2. TMA’s and GTEC’s ....................................................................................................................... 47

B. Vehicular Transportation Services Strategy .................................................................................. 47 1. Proposed Vehicular Traffic Capacity Improvements ..................................................................... 47 2. Future Traffic Demands and Levels of Service .............................................................................. 51

C. Public Transportation Services Strategy ........................................................................................ 54 TRANSPORTATION ELEMENT i


1. Proposed Transit Facility Improvements ........................................................................................ 54 2. Future Transit Ridership and Level of Service ............................................................................... 56

D. Non-Motorized Transport Services Strategy .................................................................................. 58 2. Sidewalks and Safewalk Improvement Zones ................................................................................ 59

E. Freight Transportation Services Strategy ....................................................................................... 64

F. Transportation Financial Strategy .................................................................................................. 66 1. Allocation of Transportation Resources and Monitoring Performance .......................................... 66 2. Concurrency Management and SEPA ............................................................................................ 67 3. Timing and Project Scheduling ...................................................................................................... 67 4. Scheduling and Funding of State Facilities and Programs ............................................................. 68 5. Mitigation, Monitoring and Management ...................................................................................... 68 6. Six-Year T.I.P. (Transportation Improvement Plan) ...................................................................... 68

V. State-Owned Transportation Facilities ........................................................................................... 68 A. Inventory of State Owned Facilities ............................................................................................... 69

B. Planned Improvements To State-Owned Facilities ........................................................................ 69

C. Traffic Impacts to State-Owned Facilities ...................................................................................... 69

D. Los For Highways of Statewide Significance .................................................................................. 70

E. Los For Other State Owned Facilities ............................................................................................. 70

F. Concurrency ...................................................................................................................................... 70

G. Transportation Facilities of Statewide Significance ....................................................................... 70 1. Interstate Highways ........................................................................................................................ 70 2. Interregional Arterials, including Ferry Connections ..................................................................... 70 3. Intercity Passenger Rail Services. .................................................................................................. 71 4. Major Passenger Inter-modal Terminals ........................................................................................ 71 5. Freight Railroad System ................................................................................................................. 71 6. Marine Port Facilities ..................................................................................................................... 71 7. High Capacity Transportation Systems .......................................................................................... 71 8. Regional Transportation Planning Organization (RTPO) .............................................................. 72

TRANSPORTATION ELEMENT ii


CHAPTER 5 TRANSPORTATION ELEMENT I. Introduction A. Transportation Element of the 1994 Comprehensive Plan As required by the State of Washington Growth Management Act of 1990 (GMA), the Transportation Element of the 1994 Everett Comprehensive Plan (the 1994 Plan) identified preferred levels of service for the transportation system to support existing and future development in the plan area of the incorporated City and its Urban Growth Area (UGA). The overall objective of the growth management plan was to provide a balanced transportation system that would control the sprawl of urban land uses and encourage alternate means of travel to the single occupant vehicle (SOV) particularly during peak hour commute periods. Extra road capacity was frequently required just for a few hours each day to accommodate personal preferences to drive alone in a vehicle. The extra traffic and road surfaces have considerable impacts on air, noise, and water quality. By encouraging other modes of travel such as carpools, transit riders, cyclists and walkers, the 1994 Plan sought to minimize the environmental impacts of too many vehicles in the peak hour commute periods. The 1994 Plan sought to shift about 14% of the SOV mode of travel to other modes, particularly transit, by the horizon year of 2012. In the 1994 Everett Comprehensive Plan, the city’s planning area was divided into six sub-areas. For each planning area, transportation, utilities, educational, social services, and recreational needs were analyzed and forecasts were made for future developments of residential, industrial, commercial, retail, institutional and recreational land uses. The 1994 Plan provided a target share of “mode of travel” for SOV, transit, carpool, ped/bike and substitute modes. The 1994 Plan also adopted a position in its concurrency provision that congested levels of vehicular traffic would need to be accepted in the peak commute hours of travel if the overall goal of reducing SOV travel was to be attained. The 1994 Plan was updated several times to include a Non-motorized (Trail) Sub-Element, a section on State-Owned Facilities and Transportation Facilities of Statewide Significance, and several updates of the Six-Year Transportation Improvement Plans (TIP’s). B. Transportation Element – 2006 Update The overall objective of the State GMA plan has not changed since 1994, and the overall goal of the Transportation Element of the City’s Comprehensive Plan has not changed either. The City has grown significantly, from about 70,000 residents in 1990 to more than 100,000 residents in 2006 within the current City limits. In that period, many transportation projects have been completed, and new transportation agencies have been developed, such as the Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority, known as Sound Transit, in 1996. As noted, the 1994 Everett Comprehensive Plan divided the planning area of the City into six sub-areas for review and analysis of all services for the various land uses. Over the past decade, the six Sub-Areas have been slightly modified to those shown on Figure 1.1. Sub-Area 4, which is mostly outside the existing City limits, has been significantly reduced from its former UGA boundary, which previously included Paine Field. Part of Sub-Area 5 is also outside the existing TRANSPORTATION ELEMENT 1


City limits, and most of Sub-Area 6 is outside the existing City limits. The Everett planning area population was significantly greater than 100,000 residents in 2006. The inclusion of “mode of travel” targets for each Subarea in the 1994 Plan was considered to be the most visionary aspect of the Plan. This element has been reinforced and adopted in the 2006 Update of the Transportation Element. The 2006 Update to the Transportation Element of the Everett Comprehensive Plan includes the following elements:

• Review of existing conditions to: o update the inventory of transportation infrastructure, o identify the travel demands and levels of service, and o evaluate how targets set in 1994 have been achieved.

• Review and update the goal, objectives and policies of the 1994 Plan • Review the subarea “mode of travel” targets established in 1994 for 2012 and set new

targets for the horizon year of 2025. • Estimate the travel demands generated by land use growth in the City to the horizon year

of 2025. • Determine the transportation capital projects required to accommodate the future travel

demands for each mode as: o vehicular facilities, o public transportation facilities, and o non-motorized facilities (bicycle and pedestrian)

• Develop planning level project costs for the transportation projects and identify priorities The most important revision in the 2006 Update is considered to be the inclusion of all modes in the financial plan of the Transportation Element, and the addition of specific transportation management techniques under the State Commute Trip Reduction (CTR) laws to achieve the “mode of travel” targets.

TRANSPORTATION ELEMENT 2




II. Existing Transportation Conditions In the previous Transportation Element (1994) travel forecasts were made for the planning horizon of 2012. These forecasts were coordinated with other cities and jurisdictions through Snohomish County Tomorrow (SCT) and the Puget Sound Regional Council of governments (PSRC). Estimates of travel needs and alternate means of providing transportation services for the planning horizon of 2012 were made using travel demand models. The results of these models were evaluated to produce a set of preferred transportation infrastructure projects that would support the adopted land use plan within the GMA guidelines. A. Modes of Travel 1. Modal Split Objectives For each Comprehensive Plan Sub-Area “modal split” objectives were established to measure the success of the plan. Modal splits simply mean the percent (split) of travel by each mode in the peak commute period. The modal split objectives for 2012 are shown on Table 2.1 compared to the original 1993 levels of modal split. The objective for the overall planning area was to reduce the use of single occupant vehicles (SOV) from 82% in 1993 to 68% by 2012 by increasing the use of carpools, transit and non-motorized modes. The objectives for each Sub-Area were different depending on the characteristics of the planned land uses and transportation services. Table 2.1 Modal Split Objectives Sub-Area

Single Occupant Vehicle (SOV)

Carpool (HOV) Transit Non-motorized

1993 2000 2012 1993 2000 2012 1993 2000 2012 1993 2000 2012 1 77 69 57 15 17 20 5 4 18 3 10 5 2 80 71 67 14 18 18 3 4 11 3 7 4 3 90 82 65 6 11 20 2 4 13 2 3 2 4 76 75 71 18 17 19 4 4 8 2 4 2 5 81 71 70 14 18 17 3 3 10 2 8 3 6 87 75 76 10 17 15 2 4 7 1 4 2

City-wide 82 72 68 13 18 17 3 4 11 2 7 3 The travel demand models maintained by the PSRC have been continually updated and can illustrate the changes for travel within the City of Everett’s planning area. The latest PSRC model update is based on the census data collected in 2000. The modal splits for each Sub-Area in the 2000 PSRC Base Year model are also shown on Table 2.1 for comparison. These indicate that the objectives to increase the modal split of non-SOV are being achieved to meet the 2012 objectives, primarily with carpools and non-motorized travel. The model indicates that increased use of transit may not have been on target by 2000. However, significant improvements in the public transit system have taken place since the 2000 base year of the model. 2. Commute Trip Reduction Program The Growth Management Act (GMA) also required larger employers to develop Commute Trip Reduction (CTR) plans. The objective of this program was to encourage employees to use other means of travel, such as carpools, transit, flex-days and telecommuting, to reduce SOV travel in the peak commute periods. Employers with more than 100 employees arriving at a job site in the peak morning commute period are required to have a plan. TRANSPORTATION ELEMENT 4


There were about thirty CTR employers in the City of Everett in 2005. These employers are required to file a report on their CTR activities and results every two years. The most recent results were submitted in 2005 and these are summarized on Figure 2.1. Some CTR employers have excellent results in meeting their objectives. Other CTR employers have relatively poor results. While CTR employers are required to have a CTR plan, they may select their own targets and programs to achieve those targets. There are no specific incentives or penalties to the employers if the targets are not achieved. The State of Washington revised the CTR plan in 2006 requiring all Counties and Cities to prepare a specific CTR plan. The City of Everett is currently completing the update. B. Vehicular Transportation Services 1. Roadway Infrastructure Roadways are grouped into functional classifications based on the purpose of the road, access control, capacity, and speed. The City of Everett uses five basic roadway functional classifications as shown on Figure 2.2.

• Freeways or Expressways • Principal or Major Arterial Streets • Minor or Secondary Arterial Streets • Collector Arterial Streets, and • Local Streets

The primary characteristics for defining the existing roadway capacity include the number of travel lanes provided (as shown on Figure 2.3), the traffic control devices provided, and the posted travel speeds. There are 212 traffic signals operating within the Everett planning area. Of these, 173 are maintained by the City of Everett, 21 by Snohomish County, and 18 by WSDOT. Other key capacity characteristics are summarized on the following tables for the major road categories. Freeways and Expressways Freeways and expressways provide high speed, free flow travel between regional destinations. Access to the freeways is typically managed by grade-separated interchange structures. There are about 15.5 miles of freeways serving the City of Everett with four to eight travel lanes in both directions. Interstate 5 bisects the City in the north-south direction connecting from Seattle to Vancouver, BC. US 2 connects Everett and I-5 to the east side of Snohomish County and through Stevens Pass to Wenatchee. SR 526, known as the Boeing Freeway, provides access to the Southwest Industrial zone with more than 50,000 jobs. These freeways are maintained by the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT). Table 2.2 - Freeways and Expressways

Roadway Between Length (miles)

Travel Lanes

Posted Speed

Interchanges 2005 Daily Traffic

I-5 128th St and City Limits

9.23 6 to 8 60 7 139,000 to 169,000

SR 526 Paine Field Blvd. and I-5

3.94 4 55 5 37,000 to 49,000

US 2 I-5 and SR 204

2.33 4 55 3 68,000









Principal or Major Arterials Principal or major arterials serve as the major connectors to employment and retail centers and the downtown central business district. There are thirteen corridors totaling more than 42 miles that are designated as principal arterials. They have speed limits ranging from 30 to 45 mph with two to seven travel lanes. Some of the principal arterials are state routes. SR 99 is the most significant north-south route through Everett other than Interstate 5. It enters the City from the south as Evergreen Way and then diverts to Everett Mall Way, the most significant retail area of the City. SR 99 has five to seven travel lanes and operates at 35 to 45 miles per hour. Broadway is the most significant arterial serving downtown Everett, connecting from SR 99/ SR 527 / SR 526 (Everett Mall) on the south and continuing north to Marysville as SR 529. Broadway has two to five travel lanes and operates at 35 to 55 miles per hour. Airport Road and 128th Street provide secondary access to the Southwest Industrial Area, connecting from I-5 to SR 526. The corridor has five to six travel lanes and operates at 45 miles per hour. Table 2.3 Principal or Major Arterial Streets


Travel Lanes

Posted Speed

Traffic Signals

2005 Daily Traffic

SR 527 SR 96 and I-5 4.61 2 to 5 35 8 22,500 to 31,800

Airport Road and 128th Street SW SR 526 and I-5 3.89 5 to 6 45 15 18,800

SR 96 (132nd St SE)

I-5 and Seattle Hill Road 3.29 5 45 7 28,000

Evergreen (SR 99) / Rucker Avenue

Airport Rd and Everett Avenue 6.96 5 to 7 30 to 45 29 23,200 to

36,600 Everett Mall Way (SR 99)

Evergreen Way and SR 526 2.15 7 35 9 34,300

Seaway Blvd SR 526 and Merrill Creek 1.23 4 35 2 9,800

41st Street and Mukilteo Blvd I-5 and SR 525 5.58 2 to 5 30 to 35 5 8,100 to

24,900 Broadway and SR 529 North

SR 526 and City Limits 6.52+ 2 to 5 35 to 55 24 11,400 to

31,000

Pacific Avenue W. Marine View Drive and I-5 1.11 5 30 13 15,400 to

19,900

Hewitt Avenue Broadway and I-5 0.55 5 30 4 10,300

Everett Avenue (SR 529)

W. Marine View Drive and I-5 1.30 5 30 13 9,700 to

17,000

West Marine View Drive (SR 529)

Pacific Avenue and Broadway 3.88 5 35 9 10,200

East Marine View Drive

Broadway and I-5 1.49 2 35 1 9,000



Secondary or Minor Arterials Secondary or minor arterial streets serve as the local community connectors throughout the City providing access to key businesses and shopping centers and linking the residential neighborhoods to the principal arterial system. There are fifteen corridors totaling more than 27 miles that are designated as secondary arterials. The posted speed limits along these arterials range from 30 to 35 mph with two to five travel lanes in both directions. The Madison Street and Glenwood Avenue arterial corridor only has two to three lanes total with one lane in each direction as a designated minor arterial compared to Colby Avenue which has up to five total travel lanes in both directions. Table 2.4

Secondary or Minor Arterial Streets


Travel Lanes

Posted Speed

Traffic Signals

2005 Daily Traffic

3rd Avenue and Larimer Road

I-5 and Seattle Hill Rd 5.99 2 30 to 35 1 2,900

19th Street NW Rucker Avenue and I-5 1.27 2 30 3 4,500 to 5,800

35th Street SE 100th Street and SR 96 2.00 3 35 2 10,000

52nd Street SW Evergreen Way and Broadway 0.69 2 25 3 6,000

100th Street SE 19th and 35th Avenues SE 1.00 3 30 3 10,100

112th Street S. Airport Road and SR 527 2.57 3 to 5 35 6 14,400 to

21,700 Beverly Boulevard

Broadway and 41st Street 2.99 3 30 6 12,300

Colby Avenue 41st Street and Pacific 0.91 5 30 4 10,100

East Casino Rd Evergreen Way and Beverly Blvd.

1.03 2 30 3 8,250

Glenwood and Madison Avenue

Broadway and Mukilteo Blvd. 4.22 2 to 3 30 to 35 8 5,200 to 9,300

Holly Drive Airport Road and Evergreen Way

1.89 2 30 2 3,750

Hardeson Road SR 526 and Merrill Creek 1.67 3 35 2 5,300

Maple Street I-5 and Everett Avenue 0.35 5 30 4 9,400

Rucker Avenue Everett Avenue and 19th Street 0.73 2 30 1 5,000

Walnut Street I-5 and East Marine View Dr.

1.44 2 30 3 9,000



2. Traffic Demands Existing daily and peak hour traffic volumes were assembled from the City of Everett, WSDOT, and Snohomish County records in 2005. The existing average daily traffic volumes on the freeways, principal arterials, secondary arterials, and collector arterials are shown on the preceding tables and on Figure 2.4. The traffic demands on I-5 currently range between 139,000 to 169,000 vehicles per day with up to 8,700 vehicles per hour in the northbound direction between SR 526 and 41st Street in the afternoon peak hour. Traffic on US 2 averages about 68,000 vehicles per day with up to 3,800 vehicles per hour in the eastbound direction in the afternoon peak hour. And traffic along SR526 averages between 37,000 and 49,000 vehicles per day with up to 3,700 vehicles per hour in the eastbound direction in the afternoon peak hour. The traffic demands on principal arterials vary significantly as the service area and the number of travel lanes vary. For example Mukilteo Boulevard with two lanes carries only about 8,100 vehicles per day and Evergreen Way with seven lanes carries up to 36,600 vehicles per day. Everett Mall Way carries up 34,000 vehicles per day and Broadway carries about up to 30,000 vehicles per day in the downtown area. The traffic demands on the secondary arterials also range from less than 3,000 vehicles per day on the Lowell-Larimer Highway to more than 20,000 vehicles per day on 112th Street SW at 7th Avenue SW. Traffic volumes on collector arterials range from 2,600 vehicles per day on 36th Street to 14,800 on West Casino Road. 3. Levels of Service The methodology used to evaluate the traffic conditions of the arterial system is based on the Level of Service (LOS) of the roadway corridors and key intersections. Levels of service provide a measurement of the quality of service provided by the transportation system. Evaluating the level of service on the arterial road system is typically described in terms of congestion, which can be measured by average vehicle delay, travel speed, vehicular density, or volume-to-capacity ratio. A volume-to-capacity ratio (V/C) is the ratio of traffic volumes to the capacity of the roadway or an intersection to carry traffic. The level of service analysis conducted for existing traffic conditions were based on a generalized V/C ratio for roadway corridors to be compatible with traffic estimates for future years using travel demand models. The resulting levels of service are rated with a value between A and F, where “LOS A and B” represent fairly free flow conditions and where “LOS E and F” represent severe congestion or over-capacity conditions. The existing levels of service on the freeways, principal arterials and secondary arterials are shown on Figure 2.5 during the afternoon peak commuting hour.







The freeway corridors of I-5, US-2, and SR-526 are currently operating near or at capacity (LOS E and F) in the afternoon peak hour. There are significant delays experienced in each corridor during the afternoon peak period which can range from about 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm due to the work shifts at Boeing. The northbound direction of I-5 currently experiences severe congestion on a daily basis between the SR 526 and US-2 interchanges. The southbound lanes are operating with occasional congestion at near capacity (LOS E) conditions but generally do not experience the gridlock traffic flow of the northbound lanes. The US 2 trestle across the Snohomish River valley is also operating at capacity conditions in the eastbound direction during the afternoon peak hours on a daily basis. The SR 526 corridor provides the primary access to the Boeing Company plant and experiences its highest traffic flow conditions one to two hours before the traditional commute peak hours. Several principal arterial corridors within the planning area are also operating at or near capacity in the afternoon peak hour. The 41st Street corridor is near capacity in the eastbound direction and the Broadway and the East Marine View Drive corridors are near capacity in the northbound direction. The SR 527 corridor is currently operating at capacity conditions in both directions from SR-96 to 112th Street SE. The widening of this corridor to a five–lane roadway is expected to be completed by the end of 2005 and will relieve the congestion currently experienced. The only secondary arterial that is at or near capacity is 112th Street east of 7th Avenue. 4. Local Traffic Control and Parking Management Traffic short-cutting through residential neighborhoods is not prevalent in the planning area. Some local traffic calming projects have been implemented over the past few years. There are also areas where employee parking intrudes into neighborhoods. Parking zones with specified time restrictions (except for residents with permits) were created to regulate parking and minimize intrusion primarily from employment centers and businesses. There are currently nine residential permit parking zones within the City limits. Within each residential parking zone, residents on each street may petition to be signed for the resident permit. C. Public Transportation Services 1. Public Transportation Infrastructure In addition to the arterial street infrastructure, specific transit-oriented infrastructure has been provided within the Everett comprehensive planning area as shown on Figure 2.6. Passenger Rail Passenger rail facilities include the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) mainline tracks from Seattle to Chicago and the Canadian line from Seattle to Vancouver BC. The mainline rail tracks enter Everett from the south along the Puget Sound, run under the downtown core in a tunnel, emerging near the Everett Station at Pacific Avenue and exit the City to the east along the Snohomish River. The Canadian line tracks diverge from the mainline near Everett Station and exit the City to the north along SR-529. Some significant track improvements have been funded by Sound Transit over the past decade in the development of Commuter Rail services.





Passenger Stations Everett Station, a multi-modal center in downtown Everett, is the transportation hub for the city of Everett. National and international passenger trains operated by Amtrak and regional commuter trains operated by Sound Transit run from Everett Station. National and international bus service operated by Greyhound is provided at Everett Station. Regional bus service provided by Community Transit and Sound Transit, and local bus service provided by Everett Transit also operate from the station. About 500 park and ride spaces are provided. The Everett Station itself is a Transit Oriented Development (TOD) building of four floors generating many trips through its Workforce Center, University Center, and community meeting space. The station is also within walking distance of the 10,000 seat Everett Event Center, the Snohomish County Courts and administration center, and many downtown businesses and shops. Other major transit centers in Everett include the College (North Everett) Transit Center at Everett Community College and the Mall (South Everett) Transit Center at Everett Mall. Both of these centers provide transfer facilities between several local bus routes and are located near land uses that generate significant transit trips. Table 2.5 Transit

Stations

Location Service Providers Platforms or Docks

Transit Oriented Development

Everett Station Multi-Modal Center

Pacific Avenue at Smith Avenue

Amtrak, Greyhound, Sound Transit, Community Transit, Everett Transit

16

Workforce Center, College, Everett Event Center, Snohomish County Courts

College Transit Center

Broadway at Tower Street Everett Transit 4

Everett Community College, DSHS

Mall Transit Center Everett Mall Everett Transit 4 Everett Mall Shopping

Center HOV Lanes High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes provide transit and carpools with faster and more reliable commute times. HOV lanes are provided on I-5 south of SR-526 connecting to Seattle and via I405 to Bellevue. The I-5 HOV lanes are restricted to high occupancy vehicles seven days a week and 24 hours per hour. Arterial HOV lanes are also provided on Airport Road to provide incentives for transit riders and carpools to the Southwest Industrial Area. These HOV lanes operate only in the peak commute periods and only in the affected direction – westbound in the morning and eastbound in the evening. HOV bypass lanes are also provided on interchange ramps southbound to I-5 from SR 526 and from 128th Street. Park and Ride Facilities There are four significant Park-and-Ride facilities servicing the Everett comprehensive planning area. The parking facilities at Everett Station service passenger rail and intercity bus as well as regional and local bus routes. The Eastmont Park-and-Ride is located on SR 527 near the I-5 / SR 526 interchange. This facility services all three commuter bus operators. The Mariner and McCollum Park-and-Ride facilities are located on the south edge of the Everett comprehensive planning area but provide significant service to residents of the planning area to access regional transit service and to assemble for carpools.



Table 2.6 - Park and Ride Facilities

Location Parking Spaces Transit Service Providers

Everett Station 32nd Street at Smith Avenue 500 Sound Transit, Community

Transit, Everett Transit

Eastmont SR 527 at El Capitan Way 389 Sound Transit, Community

Transit, Everett Transit

Mariner 128th Street at 4th Avenue SW 680 Community Transit

McCollum Park SR 96 (128th St) at Dumas Road 447 Community Transit

2. Passenger Transportation Routes and Capacity Public transportation routes are shown on Figure 2.7. Interstate and International Services The Amtrak Cascades runs two trains per day in each direction through Everett between Los Angeles and Vancouver BC. The Amtrak Empire Builder operates one train per day in each direction through Everett between Seattle and Chicago. The Amtrak trains run seven days a week with an average of more than 100 passengers per day at the Everett Station. Greyhound operates twelve trips per day from Seattle through Everett to Vancouver BC and east to Wenatchee and Spokane. Regional Transit Services Regional transit services are provided by Sound Transit and Community Transit. The Sounder Commuter Rail operated by Sound Transit on the BNSF rail lines provides two commuter trains southbound from Everett to Seattle every weekday morning and two afternoon trains northbound from Seattle to Everett Monday through Friday. The Sounder commuter trains average 350 riders per weekday. Additional service is provided for special events such as NFL Football and MLB Baseball games in Seattle. Commuters are also allowed to board Amtrak trains for the Everett to Seattle service. Sound Transit also operates four express bus routes on I-5 from Everett Station to Lynnwood, Seattle, Bothell and Bellevue. Connections may be made at several key regional centers to access buses and trains to other destinations in King County and Pierce County. The regional Sound Express bus service is provided seven days a week. Community Transit operates twenty-one bus routes in the Everett comprehensive planning area, making connections to all parts of Snohomish County and some destinations in King County such as the University of Washington. Most services in the City of Everett use I-5 and US 2 to access the Everett Station and service is provided seven days a week. Peak hour regional commuter service is also provided by Community Transit along Evergreen Way, Rucker Avenue and Broadway. Special commuter buses provide custom service to large employers such as Boeing from residential areas in Snohomish County.





Local Transit Services Everett Transit operates eight bus routes in the City focusing on local coverage. Most bus routes operate in a north-south direction through the downtown core with connections at the North Everett Transit Center and the South Everett Transit Center. Service is also provided to major businesses in the Southwest Industrial area, to residential areas around Silver Lake and to the Washington State Ferries dock in Mukilteo. Everett Transit service is provided seven days a week. Everett Transit also operates ParaTransit, a pre-scheduled curb-to-curb service for seniors and disabled citizens unable to use scheduled fixed-route Everett Transit bus routes. Similar to the ParaTransit, Community Transit’s DART is a curb-to-curb service for people with disabilities who are not able to ride the regular fixed-route Community Transit system in the communities in the urban growth area. 3. Public Transportation Level of Service Public transportation services provide a significant level of service in the Everett comprehensive planning area. Nearly 1,000 bus trips operate on arterial streets in the planning area over an average weekday. The afternoon commute peak hour bus frequency on Everett area streets is shown on Figure 2.8. Peak hour service to downtown Everett is most significant with more than 100 bus trips passing through the downtown or terminating at Everett Station. Many buses operate on Hewitt Avenue and Wetmore Avenue, which are designated “transit oriented streets” in the downtown core, as well as stopping at Everett Station. In addition, a local shuttle service is provided between Everett Station and the downtown core to provide additional access for residents, employees and customers. Other key transit corridors include Evergreen Way / Rucker Avenue with up to 20 buses per hour in the afternoon peak, Broadway with about 10 buses per hour and I-5 with about 10 buses per hour. The frequency of buses alone, however, does not always provide a high level of transit service to residents or employers along a route. While I-5 carries up to 10 buses per hour, access to many of these buses is only available at Everett Station or Park-and-Ride sites. The real transit service area may be better measured by the walking distance to each bus stop. Passengers will normally walk about 1,500 feet to a bus stop. Most areas are well-serviced by public transit except the southeast corner of the UGA area east of Silver Lake. 4. Public Transportation Ridership The level of service within the Everett comprehensive planning area can also be measured by the transit ridership as shown on Figure 2.9 and on the following table. There are more than 37,000 transit trips taken in the comprehensive planning area every weekday. Everett Transit carries about two-thirds of these trips within the City limits, while buses operated by Sound Transit provide regional service and buses by Community Transit provide service to unincorporated areas of the County in the UGA and also commuter for County residents to major employers in Everett, such as Boeing. Many transit trips involve travel on more than one route with transfers at Everett Station or other locations. TRANSPORTATION ELEMENT 19


Table 2.7

Transit Capacities and Ridership within the Everett and UGA

Route / Destination Transit Capacity (Buses per Day)

Ridership (Daily Passengers)

Everett Transit Routes 1 Everett Station to Everett Mall via Boeing 27 749 2 EVCC to Boeing via Walnut / Beverly Lane 23 2,435 4 Downtown Shuttle 32 192 7 EVCC to Everett Mall via Evergreen Way 32 1,464 9 EVCC to Airport Road via Evergreen Way 103 14,253 19 Eastmont / Silver lake to Everett Mall 43 1,064 20 EVCC to Everett Mall via Lowell 49 2,528 23 EVCC to Mukilteo Ferry Dock 41 1,616 Subtotal 350 24,301 Community Transit Routes 100, 101 Everett station to Shoreline 146 2,357 102 Silver Firs to Mariner Park &Ride 28 379 105, 106 Mariner Park &Ride to Bothell 76 441 177 Mukilteo Ferry to Everett Boeing 8 80 200, 201, 202

Lynnwood to Smokey Point Via Everett Station 122 3,477

207, 227, 247, 277

Everett Boeing Commuter Trips from Arlington, Marysville, Stanwood, Snohomish, Monroe and Goldbar

22 396

270, 271, 275 Everett Station to Snohomish and Monroe 60 810

280 Everett Station to Lake Stevens /Granite Falls 38 1,247 412 Silver Firs / SR 96 to Seattle 18 545 810, 812 McCollum Park & Ride to University District 18 152 860 Mariner P&R-University District 13 402 Subtotal 549 10,286 Sound Transit Routes 510, 513 Everett-Seattle 59 1,815 530, 532 Everett-Bellevue 41 777 Subtotal 100 2,592







D. Non-Motorized Transportation Services 1. Bicycle Facilities The City of Everett provides a network of facilities for cyclists including trails, bicycle lanes, designated bicycle routes and bicycle lockers, as shown on Figure 2.10 The bicycle network actually constructed has significant gaps between facilities, requiring cyclists to use other roads or routes not specifically designated for bicycles. While there are many bicycle racks provided at parks, schools and by key businesses, there are only about 50 public bicycle storage lockers at park-and-ride facilities. The most significant trail facility is the regional north-south Interurban Trail which parallels I-5. The trail surface is twelve feet wide on a separate right-of-way that is 70 to 80 feet in width. The Interurban Trail provides recreational and commuter bicycle service. Most other trails, as listed on the following table, are recreational in nature with eight foot wide surfaces. There are more than twenty-five miles of trails, not including many wholly contained within parks. Table 2.8

Existing City of Everett Trail System

Trail Between Surface Type Width

Length (miles)

Interurban 41st Street and 128th Street SW Paved 12 ft 13.0

Lowell Riverfront 41Street and Lowell-Rotary Park Paved 8 ft 1.8

Harborfront Alverson and Pigeon Creek Viewpoint Paved 8 ft 6.5

Silver Lake Interurban Trail and Thornton A. Sullivan Park Paved 8 ft 0.6

Langus Riverfront Langus Riverfront Park and Spencer Island Paved 8 ft 3.6

Forest Park Nature Trails

Mukilteo Boulevard and Waterfront Paved 8 to 12 ft 0.8

A signed bike route along East Marine View Drive and East Grand Avenue provides a temporary connection between the Lowell Riverfront Trail and the Harborfront Trail. The signed bike route does not have a separate bicycle lane but is signed to make drivers aware that bicycles share the roadway along these segments. The majority of the City of Everett’s built bicycle network consists of separate bicycle lanes on arterial streets. The bicycle lanes are typically five feet wide on the curb side of the road and are clearly marked with paint striping. A few of the bicycle lanes are located on streets with on-street parallel parking. A full listing of the bicycle lane system is shown on Table 2.9. This network of more than thirty miles of bicycle lanes is more extensive than the trail system, but significant gaps in route continuity are still evident.





Table 2.9 Existing City of Everett Bicycle Lane System

Between Bike Lanes (Direction)

Length (Miles)

100th Street SE SR 527 and 35th Avenue SE Both 1.0

112th Street SE 2nd Avenue SE and Interurban Trail Both 0.6

Airport Road and 128th Street SE SR 526 and I-5 Both 3.7

SR 96 (132nd Street SE)

SR 527 and Seattle Hill Road Both 1.9

19th Street East Grand Avenue and Summit Avenue Both 1.3

35th Avenue SE 100th Street and 132nd Street SE Both 2.0

5th Avenue W W Casino Road and 90th Street SW Both 0.3

7th Avenue SE 84th Street and 92nd Street SE Both 0.3

Alverson West Marine View Drive and Colby Avenue Both 0.6

Colby Alverson and 23rd Street Both 1.6

Glenwood Avenue Mukilteo Boulevard and Sievers-Duecy Road Both 1.6

Hardeson Road Merrill Creek Parkway and West Casino Road Both 1.7

Lowell-Snohomish River Rd

Lowell Rotary Park and Fiddlers Bluff Road Both 3.8

Madison Street Sievers-Duecy Road and Broadway Both 1.5 Merrill Creek Parkway

Glenwood Avenue and Seaway Boulevard Both 1.4

Mukilteo Boulevard Forest Park and City Limits Both 3.3 Paine Field Boulevard SR 526 and SR 525 Both 1.1

2nd Avenue Junction Avenue and Lenora Street NB Only 0.6

3rd Avenue 41st Street and Junction Avenue NB Only 0.6

W Casino Road Airport Road and Evergreen Way Both 2.0



2. Pedestrian Facilities The City of Everett provides a network of facilities for pedestrians including trails and sidewalks, as shown on Figure 2.11 Pedestrians share the trail system listed in Table 2.8 with cyclists and the paths are generally wide enough to accommodate both services safely and efficiently. The sidewalk system is very extensive in the north end of the City but it is somewhat disaggregated in the south end. Wide, landscaped sidewalks have been provided on several downtown streets which make them more appealing to pedestrians. Pedestrian crossings of major barriers such as railways, freeways, principal arterials, and even the natural topographical corridors formed by creeks, wetlands and steep slopes may be particularly significant. There are very few pedestrian crossings of I-5 south of the downtown area. At the SR 526 / 527 interchange area, for example, there are five bridges over I-5 for ramps and roadways, but not one sidewalk. 3. Special Pedestrian Zones School districts are required by Washington State regulations to have suggested walk route plans for every elementary school where children walk to school. These school walk zones must analyze a one mile area for safe walk routes with limited roadway crossings and along low density traffic. The School Walk Zone plan is to identify any needed facilities to provide a safe walk route. Most schools in the north end of Everett have ample sidewalk coverage for student access, while the schools to the south have limited pedestrian facilities for safe student access. E. Freight and Other Transportation Services 1. Truck Routes All State Routes are classified as truck routes and the amount of freight carried on each route is recorded under the Freight and Goods Transportation System (FGTS) by WSDOT. The FGTS identifies the highways and roadways most heavily used by trucks and provides data to support funding for projects that improve conditions for freight transportation. The State Routes are shown on Figure 2.12 and the corresponding FGTS data is shown on the following table.

Table 2.10 Freight on Interstate and State Routes

State Route FGTS (2003) Designation Annual Freight (Tons)

I-5 T1 48,446,100 US 2 T1 7,850,000

SR 526 T1 and T2 14,097,050 SR 527 T2 4,037,000 SR 529 T2 6,577,200 SR 96 T1 and T2 21,378,000 SR 99 T2 4,126,300







Many other arterial streets in the City carry significant volumes of freight, even though there may not be a specific truck route designation. Several of these routes support access to the Port of Everett as well as the Southwest Industrial Area, as shown on the following table.

Table 2.11 Freight Usage on Everett Arterial Streets

Roadway/Route FGTS (2003) Designation

Annual Freight (Tons)

Airport Road and 128th Street SW T1 and T2 10,000,000 41st Street T2 6,500,000 Broadway T1 6,500,000

East Marine View Drive T2 7,000,000 Evergreen Way and Rucker (north of

Everett Mall Way) T1 6,500,000

Madison Avenue (west of Evergreen) n/a n/a Pacific Avenue T1 11,000,000

Seaway Boulevard T2 4,000,000 West Marine View Drive (Pacific Avenue

to Everett Avenue) T2 7,500,000

The City of Everett has restricted some streets with weight restrictions for heavy vehicle traffic due to pavement conditions or the structural capacity of bridges. These restrictions range from 4 to 40 tons as shown on the following table. There is also a prohibition of Combination Fill Trucks on Madison Avenue.

Table 2.12 Truck Restrictions in Everett

Load Limits Street Name 4 Tons (8,000 lbs) Mukilteo Boulevard

6 Tons (12,000 lbs)

Federal Avenue Friday Avenue High Street Grand Avenue/Norton Avenue Beverly Boulevard/Colby Avenue Harrison Avenue

10 Tons (20,000 lbs)

Madrona Avenue 37th Street Wall Street California Street Hewitt Avenue Rucker Avenue 19th Street

15 Tons (30,000 lbs) East Grand Avenue Lowell River Road

40 Tons (80,000 lbs) West Mukilteo Boulevard TRANSPORTATION ELEMENT 29


2. Rail Facilities Rail service is provided by Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) with two primary rail lines that converge on the north end of the City as shown on Figure 2.12. The BNSF Mainline connects Seattle with Chicago traveling though the downtown core in a tunnel. This main rail route carries about 34 trains per day with about 87 million tons of freight per year. The second rail line provides service to north Washington counties and Vancouver BC. This route carries about 21 trains per day with about 12 million tons of freight per year. The primary rail destinations for freight within the City include the Port of Everett facilities near the downtown core and the Boeing Company Plant in the Southwest Industrial Area, which has its own rail spur through Japanese Gulch for deliveries of airplane sections from ships and barges at the Port of Everett. There are also two rail yards located in North Everett - the Delta Yard and the Bayside Yard – which provide storage for train make-ups and for loading of local goods. 3. Marine and Air Facilities Several marine and air facilities are provided in the Everett comprehensive planning area as shown on Figure 2.13 The Port of Everett is handles approximately one million tons of cargo per year through its facilities near downtown Everett. The port operates three terminals with eight berths for bulk loading and container ships. The Hewitt Terminal is linked to the BNSF rail system by a rail spur on the pier. Export products traveling though the port include logs, agricultural products (apples, pears, potatoes) as well as frozen products such as poultry and beef. Primary imports are bulk alumina ore and aircraft parts. The Port of Everett also maintains a full-service marina for recreational boats and a small commercial fishing fleet. There are about 2,000 moorage slips available. Naval Station Everett is the homeport for the aircraft carrier USS Lincoln and a supporting fleet of destroyers and frigates. The homeport generates significant freight movements by water and by land. Passenger and vehicular ferry service is provided by Washington State Ferries from Mukilteo to Whidbey Island at the west end of the City. A privately operated ferry runs from 10th Street Boat Launch to Gedney (Hat) Island for residents and invited guests only. Everett Parks and Recreation provides a passenger only ferry to Jetty Island for recreational activities during the summer. Paine Field Airport is operated by Snohomish County and provides access for jets manufactured by the Boeing Company, as well as access for aircraft maintenance and modifications by several other businesses. Paine Field also provides facilities for private and business aircraft.





III. Transportation Goal, Objectives, and Policies A. Goal and Objectives of the Transportation Element The Transportation Element of the Comprehensive Plan emphasizes an improved balance among the various modes of travel. In order to achieve this balance, transportation investments and programs are selected and designed to support changes that are consistent with the higher density, more people-oriented land use vision of Everett in 2025. This new vision is pursued with limited financial resources and with Everett accepting its fair share of regional growth, which translates into more travel and higher levels of congestion, but with more travel options available. Transportation Element Goal The goal of the Transportation Element is to promote a balanced, affordable, reliable, convenient and efficient transportation system that supports the land use vision of the Everett Comprehensive Growth Management Plan. Transportation Element Objectives There are five objectives in the Transportation Element to achieve the overall goal, and the policies are grouped under these.

1. Expand multi-modal travel opportunities 2. Develop appropriate design standards and procedures 3. Develop appropriate level of service standards 4. Minimize environmental and community impacts 5. Coordinate the plans with other jurisdictions.

B. Principles and Policies of the Transportation Objectives Objective #1: Expand Multi-Modal Travel Opportunities Plan, finance and maintain a multi-modal transportation system that provides expanded travel opportunities for transit, pedestrian, bicycle and ride-sharing while accommodating private automobile use and supporting economic development within the community. The level-of-service requirement of the Growth Management Act is applied in Everett by using both technically-based capacity measurements and policy-based assumptions for the use of transit, ridesharing and non-motorized travel. Policy-based assumptions are particularly important where significant changes in travel behavior are desired and where more attention is focused on the movement of people throughout the system. This calls for expanding the role of transit, ridesharing and non-motorized travel services and facilities in both their use and in the measurement of system capacity. Objective #1 Planning Principles:

• Develop an integrated public transit plan including local bus and trolley routes and regional bus, light rail and other high-capacity transit and commuter rail systems serving key urban centers and higher density land uses.



• Develop an integrated pedestrian and bicycle plan including trails, bike lanes and sidewalks to provide a non-motorized option for accessing transit facilities and for accessing local activity areas directly without driving a vehicle.

• Develop an integrated vehicular system plan including freeways, roads and interchanges to allow the continued use of the automobile, but with an emphasis on pedestrian safety, convenience and amenities.

• Develop an adequate rail and vehicular access system to centers of economic activity, including Port and industrial areas.

• Maintain the transportation system in a safe and serviceable condition. Objective #1 Policies: Support the Comprehensive Land Use Plan 1.1. Integrate land use and transportation planning and implementation decisions to ensure that the transportation system supports the City's land use vision and that planned land use supports the preferred transportation system. Traffic Demand Management 1.2. Work cooperatively with employers to implement programs that will reduce the use of single-occupant vehicles and vehicle-miles traveled to and within the city through a coordinated program of policy initiatives, public education, and provision of alternative travel modes. 1.3. Promote carpooling, ridesharing, flexible working hours, subsidized transit passes and other programs, including Transportation Management Associations (TMA) and Growth and Transportation Efficiency Centers (GTEC) to help comply with the Washington State Commute Trip Reduction (CTR) objectives for reducing vehicle miles traveled to and within the city. Public Transportation 1.4. Develop an integrated Transit System Plan to be used in the planning, design, designation and construction of bus, rail and station facilities and routes in the city to promote travel by public transportation services. 1.6 Maintain transit service as a preferred mode-of-travel for all trip purposes to and from downtown and other designated activity centers within the city and region. 1.7. Plan specific city roadways to accommodate transit routes, consistent with the Transit System Plan. 1.8. Support commuting alternatives by bus, rail and new transit technologies. 1.9. Provide appropriate transportation infrastructure to support public and private transit-oriented development. 1.10. Integrate future high capacity transit systems with transportation modes serving the city, including inter-city rail and bus, feeder-bus and rideshare as well as pedestrian. 1.11. Identify and preserve necessary rights-of-way for high capacity transit alignments and station locations at the earliest opportunity. 1.12. Support the expansion of passenger rail services to the City of Everett. TRANSPORTATION ELEMENT 33


Pedestrian and Bicycle Facilities 1.13. Develop a Pedestrian and Bicycle System Plan to be used in the planning, design, designation and construction of pedestrian and bicycle facilities and routes in the city to promote non-motorized travel. 1.14. Fully integrate the planning of sidewalks, walkways, and bicycle facilities and trails into overall transportation planning, programming, and construction activities. 1.15. Promote safe, well-lighted pedestrian walkways and trails to minimize travel distances within and between new development, adjoining residential areas, transit stops, and activity centers. 1.16. Plan specific city roadways to accommodate bicycle routes, consistent with the Bicycle System Plan. 1.17. Encourage accessibility for bicyclists on the transit system. 1.18. Encourage, using code amendments as appropriate, new and redeveloping properties, major transit stations, and park-and-ride lots located within the city to provide secure bicycle parking and related amenities to help encourage the use of bicycles by residents, employees, shoppers and visitors. 1.19. Encourage private and public institutions, such as hospitals, churches, schools districts and others, to develop and continue the implementation of safe pedestrian and bicycle routes and connections to and from schools and bus stops, neighborhood parks and activity centers, transit hubs, industrial and recreational areas of the marine waterfront, and other places of community and public interest. 1.20. Encourage public and private institutions, civic organizations, clubs and other interest groups to provide educational programs that promote the use of safe riding skills. Highway and Arterial Street Facilities 1.21 Develop an integrated Highway and Arterial Street System Plan to be used in the planning, design, designation and construction of freeways, arterial streets, and traffic control systems in the city to promote efficient travel by public and private vehicles. 1.22. Participate in the development of the regional system of high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) improvements linking designated activity centers to the HOV system and to provide time and ease of travel advantages for HOV user over the SOV. 1.23. Assist in providing a limited system of park-and-ride and park-and-pool lots to serve designated activity centers in the city, county and region in order to intercept trips by single-occupant vehicles closer to the trip origins, thereby reducing traffic congestion to and from trip destinations and reducing total miles traveled. Preservation of Transportation Rights-of-Way 1.24. Encourage the preservation of existing and abandoned rail and other rights-of-way for potential future transportation-related uses. TRANSPORTATION ELEMENT 34


1.25. Seek control of parcels of land that may be needed in the future for any transportation purpose when the opportunity arises through sale, donation, or land use action. Rail and Marine Facilities 1.26. Support the maintenance of existing rail and water corridors and the expansion of the capacity of those corridors consistent with the City's economic development goals. 1.27. Continue to support the efficient use of the Port of Everett for commercial purposes, and work with the Port Commission to explore multiple use purposes of port facilities. 1.28. Encourage efficient use of ferries and other water craft for the movement of passengers and goods to and from Everett, consistent with environmental protection objectives and measures. 1.29. Continue to participate in the planning and development of marine-related land uses with the Port of Everett and Snohomish County as well as other affected Federal and State agencies, groups and individuals. Transportation Funding 1.30. Actively seek an equitable share of any regional high capacity transit service, at least proportional to the City's share of costs. 1.31. Actively seek local, state, and federal funding and grants for the provision and enhancement of bicycle and pedestrian facilities and amenities. 1.32. Actively seek local, state, and federal funding and grants for the provision and enhancement of freeway and arterial facilities and traffic control systems. 1.33. Continue to support and encourage joint public-private investment initiatives in expanding the use of rail transportation and facilities for freight and passenger services to and from Everett. Objective #2: Develop Appropriate Design Standards and Procedures Design and construct safe, convenient and efficient transportation facilities with greater emphasis on minimizing person-travel delay, public safety and barrier-free, pedestrian-oriented accessibility, while assuring the continued movement of goods. This critical policy area involves the physical design of transportation facilities. Design must change significantly in order to effectively match the land use vision and concept of the Comprehensive Plan. The City has chosen a growth concept that is intended to reshape the land use form to a more pedestrian-oriented character. As a result, the transportation investments that are assumed in the Plan must similarly be reshaped to match these new forms. Urban design will become a transportation system objective that is an integral part of the investment strategy that it has chosen. It is essential to the effective pursuit of all of the other objectives that are stated in the Transportation Element.



Objective #2 Planning Principles:

• Develop a transportation network hierarchy that identifies priorities for each transportation mode; streets, transit, bicycle, pedestrian, and freight.

• Establish design requirements for attractive, separated and interesting pedestrian circulation environments that would encourage walking within mixed-use centers and corridors

• Establish design requirements for transit access facilities (stations, shelters and related features) into all developments within mixed-use centers and corridors.

• Construct a system of pedestrian/bicycle routes, pathways and sidewalks that will allow convenient non-motorized access from all Everett neighborhoods to all major transit corridors and mixed-use centers.

• Actively promote programs that encourage the substitution of transit, ridesharing, non-motorized travel for travel by single occupant vehicles, especially during the most congested periods of the day.

• Develop and implement a parking management program that emphasizes off-street parking, design and orientation consistent with mixed-use centers and corridors

Objective #2 Policies Site Design 2.1. New developments and redevelopment shall be encouraged to incorporate transit-supportive and pedestrian-friendly design features. 2.2. The design and mix of land uses around designated transit centers/stations shall emphasize the ease and safety of pedestrian and bicycle circulation and orientation to transit routes. 2.3 The design of park and ride facilities around transit centers shall encourage shared-use parking with other transit-oriented development and shall not obstruct the ease and safety of pedestrian and bicycle access to a transit center from other land uses. 2.4. New developments shall incorporate physical features designed to promote and enhance alternatives to the single-occupant vehicle, including code amendments to require secure bicycle parking and to reduce vehicular parking requirements where appropriate. Neighborhood Traffic and Circulation 2.5. Develop a neighborhood traffic management program to address problems and concerns on neighborhood streets. 2.6. Develop plans to manage traffic on neighborhood streets in accordance with classifications, design characteristics and other Comprehensive Plan policies. Guidelines for designing these roadways shall be made compatible with abutting land uses to the greatest extent feasible. 2.7. Seek a balance between neighborhood traffic protection programs and other competing city needs and interests associated with arterial capacity improvements and cut-through traffic diversions.



2.8. Continue to encourage the design of transportation facilities that reflect the character of affected neighborhoods. These designs shall strive to accommodate a range of needs of the community that are broader than strict transportation requirements. 2.9. Continue to encourage active citizen participation during the planning and design of transportation facilities, particularly in affected neighborhoods, communities and business areas. In instances where facilities are being constructed or furnished by agencies other than the City, the City shall request active citizen involvement in the planning and design of such transportation facilities. 2.10. New residential development shall be served by interconnected local public streets with bicycle and pedestrian routes. 2.11. Minimize spill-over parking from commercial areas, parks and other facilities adjacent to residential neighborhoods. Parking 2.12. The City will work with private property owners to manage the supply, operations, and demand for on-street parking in the public right-of-way in order to encourage economic vitality, improve traffic safety, and enhance the livability of residential neighborhoods. 2.13. In designated activity centers and corridors, the City will manage the supply and location of on-street and off-street parking to support a balance of travel modes consistent with the Comprehensive Plan. 2.14. Encourage institutions to manage their parking facilities to provide short-term parking for customers while minimizing the amount of parking required by their employees to minimize SOV commuters. 2.15. Parking in the right-of-way, in general, shall serve land uses in the immediate area. 2.16. Continue to maintain existing on-street parking in neighborhoods where off-street parking is inadequate and protect parking first for residents and second for customers and visitors. 2.17. Ensure that off-street parking continues to be the primary source of parking supply for activity centers and corridors within the city.



Transportation Facility Design 2.18. Design of transportation facilities shall be consistent with the other pertinent policies of the City's Comprehensive Growth Management Plan, with strong emphasis on making such transportation facilities and the travel experience as safe and enjoyable as possible, while minimizing the long-term maintenance costs.. 2.19. Transportation facilities in the city shall be planned, designed, and constructed to be barrier-free and easily accessible to disabled persons consistent with the requirements of the Americans With Disabilities Act. 2.20. Establish and adopt design standards to ensure that the implementation of bicycle and pedestrian system projects are coordinated and consistent in design and construction with other transportation system improvements. Access Management on Arterials 2.21. Work cooperatively with the Washington State Department of Transportation to develop access management agreements for State routes within the city. 2.22. Require that connections to arterials from new subdivisions be designed with adequate spacing to provide for local access to the arterials, while minimizing conflicts with through traffic. 2.23 Promote access management to maintain arterial capacity by reducing the number of curb cuts, increasing driveway spacing and providing for median treatment where appropriate. 2.24. Provide good access to regional arterials and highways for commercial traffic to and from manufacturing and industrial sites. Other 2.25. Develop supporting capital infra-structure to provide multi-modal connections between and among local and regional transportation services. Objective #3: Develop System Performance Standards (Level-of-Service). Establish a standard of performance for the transportation system that is consistent with both the short and long-term land use vision of the City and recognizes that congested conditions will remain after affordable improvements are put into place. Level-of-service is aimed not only at achieving an integration of the various modes of transportation, but also at establishing appropriate and desired levels for the use of transit, ridesharing and non-motorized modes of travel in future years. These levels are based on policies intended to re-shape the city's form and circulation environment in a way that will achieve a vision of what the city wishes to become in 2025 and beyond. As a result, these levels exceed current and forecast participation rates and may result in an overall increase in vehicular congestion. The assumed levels for the use of transit, rideshare, non-motorized use, as well as trip elimination, are based on potential demand, capacity and effectiveness of the service, and not on historic use patterns for these modes and programs. The level-of-service measurement, therefore, is governed by mode-of-travel assumptions that Everett TRANSPORTATION ELEMENT 38


aspires toward through its transportation policies and investment strategy. These assumptions are supported by other transportation system objectives and policies as discussed below. In different parts of the city, mode-of-travel objectives vary to account for differences in desired future land use and transportation demands and characteristics. Mode-of-travel assumptions for each sub-area is based on these factors:

• The forecast density and type of employment and population; • The type, quantity and completeness of the transportation system (both existing and

proposed); • The relationship of the sub-area to citywide and regional circulation and transportation

systems; and • The programs and transportation systems that must be in place in order to offer

reasonable options to driving alone such as using transit, ride-sharing, walking or bicycling.

Desired mode-of-travel participation rates are assumed for each travel mode in the peak period of travel by Planning Subarea and include:

• Percent of persons using single occupant vehicles (SOV) during peak periods • Percent of persons using transit during peak periods • Percent of persons carpooling and vanpooling during peak periods (all trips taken with 2

or more persons in the vehicle) • Percent of persons walking and using bicycles during peak periods

The designated values, as shown on Table 3.1, become the mode-of-travel assumptions for subareas and the City Planning Area, and provide the modal assumptions for maintaining concurrency. Mode-of-travel assumptions define the desired performance level for various travel modes in each planning sub-area, based on the investment strategy, but do not prescribe differential levels that may be appropriate on specific routes or in travel corridors. To address the variations in route function among the city's travel routes, route-specific assumptions may be established through more detailed planning. These more specific assumptions could establish the appropriate mix of modes necessary to serve the purposes of the specific land use and circulation environments planned along the route, and would assist in design and allocation of transportation resources to projects and programs. Route-specific assumptions would match the proposed land use purposes along the route with the type and expected performance of the routes themselves. The City may also apply refined modal assumptions to part of a subarea through the provision of a Transportation Management Area (TMA). However, sub-area “mode of travel” share (shown below in Table 3.1) provide an appropriate level of detail for the Comprehensive Plan.



Table 3.1

Mode of Travel Share by Subarea

SOV% Transit% Carpool% Ped/Bike% Totals

Existing 2005 72 6 15 7 100 Subarea 1 69 8 15 8 100 Subarea 2 71 6 16 7 100 Subarea 3 78 6 13 3 100 Subarea 4 75 6 15 4 100 Subarea 5 73 5 16 6 100 Subarea 6 75 6 15 4 100

Future 2025 68 10 14 8 100 Subarea 1 64 13 13 10 100 Subarea 2 68 9 15 8 100 Subarea 3 71 11 13 5 100 Subarea 4 70 8 15 7 100 Subarea 5 70 9 14 7 100 Subarea 6 73 8 14 5 100 The Plan contains a balanced investment among modes of travel, increasing the commitment to travel by transit, ridesharing, bicycles and pedestrians and consequently creating, through a shift in financial resources, a potential shortage of vehicular capacity. This strategy may create somewhat higher levels of roadway congestion in specific areas, but provides more travel options for those who choose to use other modes of travel. Implicit in this Plan is the effect of the somewhat higher levels of congestion on the choice to use other modes of travel. The investment strategy assumes the expansion of transit service, investments that improve access to the transit system, non-motorized facilities, and demand management programs that may require participation in alternative travel mode programs. The development of alternative-mode investment proposals is significantly affected by the establishment of mode-of-travel policies and participation assumptions. Higher participation rate assumptions are reflected in vehicle demand forecasts and result in moderating the levels of congestion remaining on the system in 2025. Financial obligations and broadly defined investment priorities must be established to satisfy the concurrency requirements of the Growth Management Act. This commitment is intended to tie available City financial resources to an investment strategy that supports the Comprehensive Plan and indicates that resources will have to be scheduled and prioritized in an expeditious manner to build the necessary improvements. The intent of this requirement is to demonstrate the capability of the City to bring new improvements on line in the same timeframe as the new growth is approved. The precise timing of the facilities will also depend upon the availability of State and Federal support, the collection of an appropriate private share from new developments, and the environmental process for physically placing a new facility on the ground. The details of the



financial program are established during the development of the City's regulatory/implementation program. Subsequent environmental review may be needed to cover the regulatory mechanisms as a means of discussing the effects of implementing each program and setting the impact fee schedule for new development. At the Comprehensive Plan review stage, only the process and order-of-magnitude commitments are identified, with some assurance that it is generally both feasible and affordable. This Comprehensive Plan and the Transportation Element represent a policy commitment by the City to pursue the intent of the financial assumption in this Plan. Residual or unmitigated traffic system problems may remain after all proposed improvements have been put into place and all travel behavior reductions have been realized from increased participation in other modes of travel and represents a tolerance by the community for vehicular congestion. In effect, the community recognizes that it does wish to accommodate its share of future growth, and that it will apply all reasonable means of reducing or modifying vehicular travel demand. The remaining problems may not completely materialize as forecast since existing methods and assumptions are not always effective in predicting behavioral changes in travel. However, these technically-derived results are assumed for the Comprehensive Plan and they are treated as unmitigated, "accepted" problems, even if they do not completely materialize as forecast. Objective #3 Planning Principles:

• Everett accepts the rate of growth in travel demand that is consistent with a change in its planning decisions to support mixed-use centers and a more pedestrian and transit-oriented community.

• Everett will invest in transportation improvements and programs that support the Comprehensive Plan and are within its current financial means.

• Everett accepts the consequences of accommodating its fair share of regional growth, including unmitigated traffic congestion that remains after all affordable transportation investments are in place.

Objective #3 Policies: Level-of-service Policies 3.1. Establish transportation system level-of-service standards to support desired changes in travel behavior and to encourage multi-modal system development. 3.2. Level-of-service standards shall reflect the existing and planned development patterns of the various sub-areas of the city. Concurrency Policies 3.3. Develop a Concurrency Management Strategy for the city that facilitates the full integration for the programming and administration of transportation improvements, services and programs with the Comprehensive Plan. 3.4. Assure that transportation system improvements are programmed to be available for use within six years of development permit approval if level-of-service is forecast to be exceeded within the subarea of the permit. 3.5. The City of Everett will annually monitor and make adjustments as needed to the Transportation level-of-service standards and approach based on growth rates, comprehensive plan amendments, and financing for projects. TRANSPORTATION ELEMENT 41


Objective #4: Minimize Environmental and Community Impacts Minimize or mitigate adverse impacts of transportation systems and facilities on the natural environment, neighborhoods and quality of life. The transportation system affects the environment and the community in two ways: the impacts of travel and traffic from the system, and the impacts due to the construction of new transportation system facilities. The City recognizes both categories of impacts in its Comprehensive Plan. The Comprehensive Plan accommodates a substantial increase in population and jobs with a limited expansion of the vehicular transportation system capacity. The emphasis in accommodating travel by increased investments in transit and non-motorized modes will reduce the potential impacts to the environment. However, improvements that are made to the transportation system are likely to affect existing neighborhoods, since the city is largely developed. For the transportation system investments the range of environmental concerns that will be expressed in policy include air quality, energy, noise, natural environment and community impacts. Air quality and energy are generally system-wide and regional in nature, while noise, the natural environment and community impacts are more localized and are emphasized in the Plan because of Everett's ability to affect them more directly through its policies. Objective #4: Planning Principles

• Support the application of SEPA through the integration of its requirements into the Comprehensive Plan's implementation program under the Growth Management Act. For transportation, this will place primary responsibility for system requirements on growth management procedures such as the concurrency requirement, and primary responsibility for SEPA on site impacts.

Objective #4: Policies: System 4.1. Encourage the use of travel modes that minimize the impacts of transportation systems on the environment, neighborhoods and quality of life. 4.2. Encourage the use of travel modes that contribute to clean air and energy efficiency. 4.3. Pursue transportation projects, pro-grams, and investment strategies that are consistent with noise minimization and water quality efficiency objectives. Construction and Operation 4.4 Minimize impacts on the environment and communities when improving or establishing new transportation facilities. 4.5. Identify, evaluate and adequately mitigate, to the extent feasible, the environmental and community impacts of transportation improvements and operational decisions. 4.6. In order to meet the requirements of the Federal Clean Air Act and Amendments, the air quality provisions of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) TRANSPORTATION ELEMENT 42


and subsequent federal funding provisions, the Clean Air Washington Act and other relevant legislation, the City of Everett will commit to work with the PSRC, the WSDOT, transit agencies and other jurisdictions in the development of transportation control measures and other transportation and air quality programs where warranted. Objective #5: Coordination of Plans and Improvements Establish and maintain an efficient coordination process for identifying, reviewing and resolving inter-jurisdictional transportation concerns in or affecting Everett's Planning Area. The Growth Management Act requires local plans and programs to be closely coordinated with other local, regional and state plans and programs. This requirement is founded on the assumption that each jurisdiction in the region is part of a whole and that the actions of one jurisdiction affects and is affected by other jurisdictions. Objective #5: Planning Principles:

• Coordinate transportation planning and investment decisions with the County, the State and neighboring jurisdictions, including the use of interlocal agreements.

• Establish a development review process that views local, countywide and regional decisions as an integrated growth management system with common and mutually beneficial purposes.

• Establish an interjurisdictional capital improvement programming process that assures that the new growth management concepts are effectively supported by transportation decisions.

• Encourage the establishment of a countywide mitigation program with comparable fees, shared financing responsibilities and similar procedural requirements.

Objective #5: Policies: Coordination 5.1. Coordinate the planning, design and financing of transportation systems with the transportation and land use plans of neighboring jurisdictions in order to identify opportunities to maximize benefits with limited financial resources. 5.2. Participate in planning, design, funding, and development of a regional high capacity transit system as a travel option for regional passenger travel and to reduce reliance on the single occupant vehicle. 5.3. Coordinate decisions on regional high capacity transit rights-of-way and their connections to other regional facilities within the city limits with other jurisdictions in the region in order to maximize transit investment benefits that enhance the City's land use and transportation goals and visions. 5.4. Alignments for a future regional high capacity transit system should be based on criteria that are guided by the City's preferred land use vision, population and employment distribution and opportunities and potential for redevelopment. 5.5. City arterials should not be designed or managed to serve as primary alternative routes for regional through trips. TRANSPORTATION ELEMENT 43


5.6. The City of Everett supports the concept of designating certain major transportation facilities that affect other jurisdictions for further study in the development of its plan. These studies may include major road or transit facilities. The designation of any facilities for further study shall in no way be construed as the City of Everett supporting the construction of such facilities and shall not commit the City of Everett to construction of such facilities, regardless of the findings and recommendations of such a study. IV. Transportation Implementation Strategy The overall goal of the Transportation Element is to promote a balanced, affordable, reliable, convenient and efficient transportation system that supports the land use vision of the Everett Comprehensive Growth Management Plan. This new vision is pursued with limited financial resources and with Everett accepting its fair share of regional growth, which translates into more travel and higher levels of congestion, but with more travel options available. The Transportation Element emphasizes a balance among the various modes of travel. In order to achieve this balance, transportation investments and programs are selected and designed to support changes that are consistent with higher density land uses and more use of transit and non-motorized forms of transportation. Mode of Travel Shares The City of Everett has established “mode-of-travel” goals for commuter trips in each Subarea within the Urban Growth Area (UGA) to be achieved in the future. These goals were identified in Table 3.1 and are shown on Figure 4.1. Overall, these modal split goals represent an increase in the proportion of travel by transit, carpool and non-motorized modes, with a corresponding reduction in the proportion of travel as drive-alone or single-occupant vehicles (SOV). The Transportation Implementation Strategy (the Plan) identifies the key projects and programs by mode that will be required to achieve the goal of the Transportation Element. The projects are further prioritized into three time periods: the first six-year Transportation Improvement Program (TIP), the second six-year plan or Mid-Term program, and the Long-Term improvement program. The TIP is revised on an annual basis, and as projects get completed, new projects will be advanced from the Mid-Term program to the current TIP. Subsequent updates to the Comprehensive Plan will review changes in the land use plan and monitor achievement of the transportation goals. A. Multi-Modal Management Transportation Strategy The City recognizes that it must invest in capital infrastructure improvements and on-going maintenance and operations to achieve its over-all transportation goals. Many of these capital and operating programs provide multi-modal opportunities, such as major transfer centers for buses and park and ride facilities to accommodate collections of carpools. Strategic development of these multi-modal centers will encourage more people to use alternate modes of travel. The City will also focus high-density land-uses along existing and future transit corridors and at multi-modal centers to achieve higher proportion of travel by transit through convenience and time-saving factors. The City will also review elements of its development code, such as



minimum parking requirements for vehicles and bicycles, with the objective of encouraging a higher proportion of non-motorized travel. There are other transportation programs that can provide assistance and incentives in achieving higher use of alternate modes of travel to the single-occupant vehicle. Some of these programs are mandated by state law and others are voluntary.





1. CTR Program The City administers the state-mandated Commute Trip Reduction (CTR) program within the City limits through its public transportation department, Everett Transit. The CTR program requires CTR Employers to set targets to reduce commuter trips by single occupant vehicles (SOV) and to identify and implement transportation demand management (TDM) techniques to meet those targets. There are about thirty CTR Employers in Everett who must report on a biennial basis. The State of Washington revised the CTR program, and signed the CTR Efficiency Act into legislation in March 2006. This new statute continues the previous program but allows the designation and certification of Growth and Transportation Efficiency Centers (GTEC) by cities, towns and counties. GTEC are defined, mixed-use urban areas that contain jobs or housing and support multiple modes of transportation. This will allow greater flexibility and efficiency in administering CTR programs, by coordinating adjacent and complimentary employment sites into one program. It will also allow the City to designate other employers within a geographic GTEC as participants, increasing the coverage of the CTR program. The City may designate existing or new activity centers as GTEC’s and establish a transportation demand management (TDM) program for the designated area. 2. TMA’s and GTEC’s The City has also proposed development of a Transportation Management Agency (TMA) for the Downtown Core area. TMA’s are voluntary organizations of business and residential groups that wish to implement TDM measures to reduce parking demands, peak traffic volumes, or just to provide greater travel options to their employees or residents. TMA’s are currently operating in downtown Seattle, downtown Bellevue, and Redmond. The Downtown Everett TMA will be developed as part of the Downtown Everett Subarea Plan to complement significant land use revisions. The Downtown Everett TMA will be developed within the first six-year plan period. The City will also develop a plan to implement the 2006 CTR Efficiency Act. A significant element of the plan will be defining the goals, objectives and benefits of Growth and Transportation Efficiency Centers (GTEC). These centers must meet minimum criteria established by the State Commute Trip Reduction Board and must be certified by the PSRC. Initially, the GTEC zones may be restricted to urban center designations. The City will undertake planning for up to six GTEC’s within the UGA area. Development of the GTEC’s and relevant transportation demand management (TDM) is a key feature of the Plan to achieve the 2025 “mode-of-travel” targets. B. Vehicular Transportation Services Strategy The Plan provides improvements for new vehicle capacity in key travel corridors to assure mobility for both people and goods. The future arterial street network is shown on Figure 4.2. 1. Proposed Vehicular Traffic Capacity Improvements These capacity improvements are programmed for planning, design and construction over the three program periods, short-term TIP, Mid-Term plan and Long-Term plan, as shown on Table 4.1.



Some projects may not be completed in the Plan period but need to be identified for planning, design, funding, and permitting procedures. Some projects may be revised or replaced with subsequent detailed studies. The TIP is revised on an annual basis, and as projects get completed, new projects will be advanced from the Mid-Term program to the current TIP. Freeway Capacity Improvements Additional capacity on Interstate 5 is currently under construction to extend the High Occupant Vehicle (HOV) lanes north to US-2 and is expected to open by 2008. The Plan provides a further extension of the HOV lanes to Marysville. The Plan includes improvements to existing interchanges at 128th Street, SR 526, 41st Street/Broadway (under construction), Pacific Avenue, US-2, Everett Avenue and East Marine View Drive to maximize the efficiency of I-5. Once the existing interchanges are improved, the Plan provides for new interchanges at 112th Street, 100th Street (HOV ramps), Madison Street, and 12th Street (Smith Island) to further reduce congestion. The US-2 Trestle over the Snohomish River valley may also be widened with HOV lanes to complete the HOV system. However, additional east-west regional capacity will be required towards the end of the Plan period. An extension of SR-526 to SR-2, or a comparable facility, will provide congestion relief to US-2 and to I-5. The City will participate with other agencies in planning an alignment of the regional facility to a potential interchange at Bickford Avenue. A new interchange will also be provided on SR-526 at Hardeson Road to service the Southwest Everett industrial area. The potential costs of these Freeway Capacity improvements are estimated at more than $3 Billion over the Plan period. Arterial Capacity Improvements SR-527 (19th Avenue) has recently been widened to five lanes to provide a contiguous north-south arterial route. Airport Road, 4th Avenue, 100th Street, 112th Street, 116th Street, Casino Road, South Broadway, and East Marine View Drive will also be widened. A new arterial connection will be provided on 100th Street between SR-527 (19th Avenue) and West Mall under I-5 with a possible extension to Everett Mall Way or Evergreen. New grade separations will be provided for Pacific Avenue and Everett Avenue over the BNSF to access Riverfront development properties. A grade separation of Lenora Avenue over the BNSF Main Line will be provided unless a bypass of the Lowell neighborhood is developed. Other arterial streets will be constructed to service new developments. Rucker may be realigned to connect with West Marine View Drive and a new truck route planned. Broadway may be reconfigured with HOV lanes between 41st Street and Pacific Avenue to accommodate increased bus traffic. The potential costs of these Arterial Capacity improvements are estimated at more than $200 Million over the Plan period.



Table 4.1

Future Vehicular Capacity Improvements

2006 to 2011 6 Year TIP

2012 to 2017 Mid-Term

2018 plus Long-Term

Interstate 1. I-5 HOV Lanes: SR 526 to US 2 Design / Build 2. I-5 41st Street Interchange Design / Build 3. I-5 112th St. P&R, HOV Ramps, Flyer Stop Design / Build

4. I-5 Downtown Interchanges Design Build 5. I-5 100th Street HOV Interchange Design Build 6. I-5 Everett Mall Way Ramp (NB to SB) Design Build 7. I-5 Smith Island Interchange Plan Design Build 8. I-5 East Marine View Dr Interchange Design Build 9. I-5 HOV Lanes from US 2 to SR 528 Design Build 10. I-5 128 Interchange Design Build 11. I-5 128 St. HOV Ramps (Mariner P&R) Design Build 12. I-5 112th Street Interchange Plan Design State Freeways 1. US-2 Trestle widening from I-5 to SR 204 Design Build 2. SR-526 Hardeson Interchange Design Build 3. SR-526 Extension from I-5 to US-2 Plan Design Build Principal Arterials 1. SR-527 widening: 112th to 132nd Build 2. East Marine View Dr.: I-5 to Broadway Design / Build 3. South Broadway: SR 526 to 41st Street Plan/Design Build 4. Pacific Avenue BNSF Grade Separation Design Build 5. Rucker Realignment to West Marine View Design/Build 6. I-5 to Port of Everett Truck Route Plan/Design Minor Arterials 1. 41st Over BNSF to Riverfront / Simpson Build 2. 112th Street Widening: 3rd Ave. to 19th Ave. Design / Build

3. Lowell Bypass or Lenora Over BNSF Design Build 4. 116th Street widening: SR-527 to 35th Ave Design / Build

5. 100th Street: Airport Rd. to Evergreen Design / Build 5. 100th St. Connection 19th Ave. to West Mall Design Build

7. 100th St. : Evergreen to West Mall Plan Design Build 6. 4th Ave. Widening 104th to 112th Streets Design / Build Collector Arterials 1. Everett Over BNSF: E. Grand to Railway Design / Build 2..Chestnut / Eclipse Mill from 36th to Pacific Design Build





2. Future Traffic Demands and Levels of Service Notwithstanding the proposed improvements, the Plan recognizes that there will continue to be congestion on some roads in the peak periods of travel. The future Daily Traffic Demands are shown on Figure 4.3. Even with the proposed shifts in travel to transit, carpools and non-motorized modes, the traffic demands will continue to grow. Traffic on I-5 is projected to grow from about 180,000 vehicles per day to over 220,000 vehicles per day in south Everett. Even with a new east-west SR-526 freeway attracting nearly 60,000 vehicles per day, traffic on the US-2 Trestle will grow to over 70,000 vehicles per day. Severe traffic congestion will continue to be experienced on several routes in the morning and afternoon peak commute hours as shown on Figure 4.4. Freeway Congestion Most of I-5 will continue to experience congestion, along with SR-526 west of I-5. This will be an unmitigated impact of the Plan. If the SR-526 extension project is completed, the SR-2 Trestle is not projected to experience the severe congestion it has today. Arterial Congestion Some principal arterials, such as SR-96, SR-99 and SR-527 will also experience peak hour congestion. Collector arterials such as 100th Street and Beverly Boulevard may experience some congestion. This will be an unmitigated impact of the Plan. Most other arterial streets will experience moderate congestion levels. The Plan accepts these peak hour levels of congestion as the result of an ever increasing density of travel in an urban area and relies on the investments in other travel modes to provide greater choices in travel options and to reduce the proportion of travel by single-occupant vehicles.







C. Public Transportation Services Strategy The Plan provides improvements for new transit capacity in key travel corridors to assure greater choice and mobility for commuters and others. The future public transit network is shown on Figure 4.5. 1. Proposed Transit Facility Improvements These capacity improvements are programmed for planning, design and construction over the three program periods, short-term TIP, Mid-Term plan and Long-Term plan, as shown on Table 4.2. Many of the projects and services will be provided by agencies other than Everett Transit. The City will use the CTR program to ensure that land uses and multi-modal policies provide greater opportunities for transit riders. The City will also work closely with the other transit agencies to ensure that the Plan is implemented. Rail Capacity The Plan provides for additional capacity on the Sounder Commuter Rail line to Seattle and sets out to work with appropriate agencies to extend that service north through Marysville, potentially to Stanwood. The Plan also provides for development of a starter light rail line between Everett Station and Everett Community College. The line would also have stations at the Everett Events Center and the Providence Everett Medical Center. The starter line would eventually be connected to the LINK North light rail line from Seattle. The significant employment in Southwest Everett at the Boeing plant and other industries requires a plan for an east-west light rail link later in the period. A riverfront to waterfront connection will also be developed, which might include bus service or trolley service. The potential capital costs of these Rail Capacity improvements are estimated at more than $2 Billion over the Plan period. Regional Bus Capacity The Plan provides additional capacity on SR-99 by means of a Bus Rapid Transit route to be operated from Shoreline or even into Seattle. The Plan provides for development of Transit Signal Priority (TSP) and Business and Transit (BAT) lanes in the corridor to implement the new service. The Plan also provides for a new Express bus service along SR-527 to Bellevue. As growth continues in Snohomish County other regional bus services to other cities will be linked to major transfer facilities such as Everett Station. Such service have not been fully identified by the regional service providers over the Plan period. The potential capital costs of these Regional Bus Capacity improvements are estimated at more than $40 Million over the Plan period. Local Bus Capacity The Plan provides additional capacity on local service provided by Everett Transit into Paine Field and Southeast Everett. New service is also contemplated into developing areas such the Riverfront/Simpson site. As TMA and GTEC zones are identified, additional local service will be provided. Service capacity improvements will require additional capital costs for buses which are estimated on an annual basis for TIP updates Stations and Facilities The Plan provides for continued investments in expanding existing transit centers and building new transit centers. Associated parking facilities for vehicles and bicycles will be provided at the centers. As Everett Transit services increase, a new bus operations center will be required to





store, maintain and stage bus equipment. The potential capital costs of these Station Facilities are estimated at more than $60 Million over the Plan period.

Table 4.2 Future Public Transportation Capacity Improvements

2006 to 2011 6 Year TIP


2018 plus Long-Term

Rail Projects (including stations as required) 1. Sounder Commuter Rail Seattle to Everett 4 trains 6 trains 8 trains

2. Sounder Commuter Rail Everett to Stanwood

Plan Design

3. LINK North LRT 128th St. to Everett Mall Plan Design Build

4. LINK North LRT Everett Mall to Everett Station

Plan Design Build

5. LINK North LRT: Everett Station to Everett Community College

Plan Design / Build

6. LINK LRT: LINK North to Boeing Plan Design

7. Waterfront to Riverfront Connector Plan/Design Build

Express Bus Routes / Bus Lanes 1. SR 99 Evergreen CT Bus Rapid Transit Shoreline to Everett Station.

Design / Operate

2. SR 99 TSP/BAT Lanes 128th Street to Pacific Avenue

Design / Build

3. SR 527 ST Express Everett Station to Bellevue

Design / Operate

Local Bus Routes / Service 1. ET Paine Field Bus Routes Design / Operate 2. ET Southeast Everett Bus Routes Design / Operate Transit Stations / Facilities 1. Everett Station – Park and Ride Design / Build Design / Build 2. North Everett Station Rebuild Design / Build 3. South Everett Station Rebuild Design / Build 4. Paine Field Station Plan/Design Build 5. Bus Operations Center Plan/Design Build The Transit TIP is revised on an annual basis, and as projects get completed, new projects will be advanced from the Mid-Term program to the current TIP. However, many of the transit projects are not within the control of the City. The Plan requires that the City works with other agencies and uses the 2006 CTR Efficiency Act with designated GTEC to ensure that the transit elements are implemented. 2. Future Transit Ridership and Level of Service The potential transit ridership with the full program of rail, regional bus and local bus investments is shown on Figure 4.6. This ridership potential is achievable if the levels of service are increased as proposed. It represents a significant increase in transit use and would meet the modal split objectives as well as reducing the traffic congestion if the full transit plan can be implemented.





D. Non-Motorized Transport Services Strategy The Plan provides for significant improvements in bicycle and pedestrian facilities to assure greater choice and mobility for commuters, students, and recreational uses to be programmed over the three program periods, short-term TIP, Mid-Term plan and Long-Term plan, as shown on Table 4.3. 1. Proposed Bicycle and Multi-Use Facility Improvements The bicycle facilities have been planned with a greater focus on commuter needs and provide a network of bicycle lanes and signed routes, as well as multi-purpose trails. Bike / Ped Bridges and Crossing Facilities The Plan recognizes that there are several major barriers to pedestrians and cyclists, both in the natural topography of the land and in the man-made structures of freeways and railways. It is assumed that sidewalks and bicycle lanes will be included with many new interchanges and arterial road crossings of I-5, such as 128th Street, 112th Street, 100th Street, 41st Street, Pacific Avenue, and Everett Avenue. The Plan provides for separate trail crossings of the BNSF at Bond Street, 36th Street, and near Pigeon Creek No. 1. It also provides for additional crossings of SR 526 at Seaway Boulevard, of the Snohomish River to Smith Island, of Woods Creek from Gold Way to 181st Place and of East Marine View drive at Henry M. Jackson Park. The potential capital costs of these Bridge and Crossing improvements are estimated at about $10 Million over the Plan period. Bike / Ped Trail Facilities The Plan provides for completion of the multi-use trail system including the Harborfront Trail from Mukilteo to North Broadway, the Lowell / Riverfront Trail from 41st Street to North Broadway, and the Smith Island Trails. New park trails are provided along Pigeon Creek No.1 and 2, Narbeck Creek, Powder Mill Creek and Japanese Gulch and a trail connection from the Interurban to Larimer Road along Ridgewood. Trails are also planned along East Marine View Drive and SR 526. The potential capital costs of these Trail facilities are estimated at more than $30 Million over the Plan period. Bike Lane Facilities The Plan provides for significant investments in bike lanes over the three time periods to provide wide coverage for commuter and student cyclists. Key facilities on Hoyt Avenue and California Avenue will service the Downtown area. Bike lanes on SR-529 to Marysville are a high priority. Bike lanes on 128th Street, 112th Street, 100th Street and Pacific Avenue will provide key east-west routes across I-5. North-south routes on 4th Avenue and 7th Avenue will complement other bike lanes on Seaway Boulevard and Beverly Lane/Dogwood. The potential capital costs of these Bike Lane improvements are estimated at about $40 Million over the Plan period. TRANSPORTATION ELEMENT 58


Bike Route Designations In addition to construction of specific lanes for bicycles, the Plan recognizes that some local, residential streets are sufficiently safe to be designate as preferred bicycle routes without the need to build special bicycle lanes. Planning and signage is estimated at less than $1 Million. The Future Bicycle Facilities plan is shown on Figure 4.7 including trails, bicycle lanes and signed bike routes.

Table 4.3 Future Non-motorized Improvement Projects

2006 to 2011 6 Year TIP


2018 plus Long-Term

Bike / Ped Bridges and Crossings 1. Bond Street Crossing of BNSF Design / Build 2. 36th Street Crossing of BNSF Design Build 3. E. Marine Vw. Crossing at Jackson Park Design / Build 4. Crossing of BNSF at Pigeon Creek #1 Design / Build 5. Snohomish River Bridge to Smith Island Design Build 6. Woods Creek Crossing at Gold Way Design / Build 7. SR 526 Undercrossing at Seaway Blvd Design / Build 8. Grand Avenue to West Marine View Drive Design Build Bike / Ped Trails 1. 41st St. - Interurban to Riverfront Trail Design / Build 2. Harborfront - California to Bond Design / Build 3. Riverside Trail: 16th St. to Broadway Design / Build 4. Harborfront Trail: 22nd St. to Everett Ave Design / Build 5. Harborfront Trail: Broadway to Alverson Design / Build 6. Pigeon Creek 1:Mukilteo B. to Dogwood Design / Build 7. Harborfront: Mukilteo Ln. to Baker Dr. Design / Build 8. SR 526: Seaway B. to Japanese Gulch Design / Build 9. Powder Mill Creek Trail Design / Build 10. Smith Island Trails to 12th Street Design / Build 11. E. Marine Vw Trail: 16th to N.Broadway Design / Build 12. Harborfront: Baker Dr. to Pigeon Cr. 1 Design / Build 13. Narbeck Cr.: Mukilteo B. to Seaway B Design / Build 14. Pigeon Cr. 2: Harborfront to Brookridge Design / Build 15. Japanese Gulch: Mukilteo B. to SR 526 Design / Build 16. Riverfront Trail: 16th St. to 41st St. Design / Build 17. Ridgewood Tr.: Interurban to Larimer Rd. Design / Build Design / Build 2. Sidewalks and Safewalk Improvement Zones The Plan also provides for significant investments in sidewalks to connect neighborhoods, provide access to parks and provide safe walk routes to students. Key connections Silver Lake Road and 47th Street are proposed, in addition to the multi-purpose trail systems previously identified. While many sidewalk maintenance and replacement programs will need to be developed for existing facilities, there are several parts of the City that severely deficient in sidewalk infrastructure. The Plan proposes to address these areas by working in conjunction with the two



School Districts through the State-funded Safe Routes to Schools Grants program. This program will fund completion of existing sidewalks, improvements at intersections and transit facilities, and new sidewalks and pedestrian paths. Safe walk routes will reduce the need for school bus transport and the amount of private vehicles on the road delivering students to schools.





The City will work with the School Districts to identify and construct sidewalks on at least one-side of the street to achieve 100% coverage within a one-mile radius of the schools. Most of the north end of the City has full sidewalk coverage, although there may be some spot improvements required. Five “Safe Route Improvement Zones” have been identified in the south end of the City to program these pedestrian improvement initiatives. Zones within the City limits are programmed in the first and second six-year plans, with areas within the Urban Growth Area boundary scheduled for the later period. The potential capital costs of these Sidewalk improvements are estimated at more than $100 Million over the Plan period. The Future Pedestrian Facilities plan is shown on Figure 4.8including trails, sidewalks and five Safe Walk Improvement zones.

Table 4.3 (continued) Future Non-motorized Improvement Projects

2006 to 2011 6 Year TIP


2018 plus Long-Term

Bike Lanes 1. Holly Drive: 100th Street to Airport Road Design / Build 2. Holly Drive: 4th Avenue to 92nd Street Design / Build 3. Ross Ave (Smith Is) 12th St. to 34th Pl. Design / Build 4. Hoyt Avenue: 24th St. to 41st St. Design/Build 5. 41st Street: Federal to Interurban/Colby Design/Build 6. Seaway Blvd: 36th Ave W to Intermec Design/Build 7. Beverly/Dogwood: Mukilteo B. to SR526 Design/Build 8. Silver Lake Rd: SR 527 to 112th Street Design/Build 9. 112th St.: Interurban Trail to SR 527 Design/Build 10. SR 529: Broadway to Marysville Design/Build 11. California: W. Marine Vw. to SR 2 Design/Build 12. Pacific Ave.: Smith to SR 2 Trestle Design/Build 13. Smith Ave.: 41st St. to California Design/Build 14. 36th St.: Hoyt to Everett Waterfront Design/Build 15. 52nd St. Fleming to Lowell-Larimer Design/Build 16. Larimer Rd.: Seattle Hill Lowell Design/Build 17. Seattle Hill: 132nd Street to Larimer Rd. Design/Build 18. SR 526: Airport Road to Seaway Blvd. Design/Build 19. 4th Avenue: Holly Drive to 128th St. Design/Build 20. 100th St.: Evergreen to SR 527 Design/Build 21. 7th Avenue: 92nd St. to 112th St. Design/Build 22. 116th St.: SR 527 to 35th Ave. Design/Build 23. 128th St./132nd: 4th Ave. to SR 527 Design/Build Sidewalks 1. Silver Lake Rd SR 527 to 112th Street Design / Build 2. 47th St.: Evergreen to Black Forest Trail Design / Build Safewalk Improvement Zones 1. Jackson / View Ridge / Madison schools Design/Build 2. Horizon / Emerson / Challenger Schools Design/Build 3. Lowell Elementary School Design/Build 4. Olivia Park / Discovery Schools Design/Build 5. Jefferson / Monroe / Silver Lake / Pennycreek Schools

Design/Build





E. Freight Transportation Services Strategy The Plan provides for some improvements in freight services to assure greater abilities to deliver goods from manufacturers and distributors to customers. Truck Network The Plan provides for significant capacity improvements on existing designated truck routes through the vehicular services strategy. Key truck route improvements include I-5 and its interchanges, US-2 and East Marine View Drive. The Plan also provides for additional truck route designations on freeways and arterial streets. Specifically, the Plan proposes designation of Hardeson Road as a truck route and designation of the SR-526 extension, or alternate, as a truck route, as shown on Figure 4.9. The Plan will also investigate improvements between Rucker Avenue and West Marine View Drive. Rail Network The Plan provides for improvements on existing rail lines to primarily to accommodate passenger rail services such as Sounder Commuter Rail. These rail improvements will also enhance the operations of freight services in the same corridors. The City will continue to work with rail providers such as BNSF, rail service terminals, such as the Port of Everett, and select manufacturers, such as the Boeing Company, to improve rail lines and inter-modal connections. The City will also work with BNSF to consolidate rail tracks along its downtown riverfront and to improve safety by building additional grade-separated rail crossings, such as East Everett Avenue. Air and Marine The City will continue to work with Snohomish County and the City of Mukilteo on air services at Paine Field. The City will work with the Port of Everett and the Department of National Defense for waterfront terminals, docks and marinas, and with the Port of Everett, the City of Mukilteo, and the Washington State Ferries on ferry terminal services.





F. Transportation Financial Strategy The Plan requires about $5.6 billion of investment for future improvements over the long-term period, as illustrated on Figure 4.10.

Long-Term Transportation Improvement Budget by Mode Figure 4.10. The majority of this infrastructure investment (about $3.3 Billion or 58% of the Plan budget) will be for improvements to road infrastructure. The City will work with State, County and other local jurisdictions over the period of the Plan to develop adequate funding sources for these projects. To achieve the increased modal split in transit services and limit further needs to invest in roads, a significant investment in transit services will also be required. This infrastructure investment (about $2.2 Billion or 39% of the Plan budget) will be for high capacity light rail services to the downtown and to major employers such as Boeing. The City will work with Sound Transit, Community Transit, and other local jurisdictions over the period of the Plan to develop adequate funding sources. While significant investments are required for non-motorized elements of the Plan, they amount to less than $200 million or 3% of the Plan budget. The City will work with the School Districts, other local jurisdictions, and property developers to develop adequate funding sources. The City will update its Transportation Impact Fee schedule to ensure that new development pays a fair share of the costs of capital improvements and that all modes of capital improvements, roads, transit and non-motorized, are included in the mitigation fee process. 1. Allocation of Transportation Resources and Monitoring Performance Everett's transportation investment strategy for the Plan provides travel options sufficient to accomplish the participation rates for mode-of-travel that are assumed in Table 3.1 and Figure 4.1. The implementation of planned transportation improvements and programs will accommodate growth in areas that are designated for growth in the Plan. Following Plan adoption, concurrency procedures will be applied to allocate committed transportation resources TRANSPORTATION ELEMENT 66


to planned projects and programs and to monitor progress toward mode-of-travel assumptions, level-of-service standards and adopted growth policies. Since level-of-service today is different (better) than it will be in the horizon year, the standard must be adjusted to reflect current short-term investment programs (the six-year transportation programs). Each year as the six-year program is reviewed, the level-of-service standard for that six-year period will be reaffirmed. 2. Concurrency Management and SEPA Concurrency will not replace SEPA, but rather become an integral part of a comprehensive program that attaches private and public transportation improvement commitments to development decisions. Following Plan adoption, SEPA will focus primarily on site impacts that could result in additional transportation requirements in specific instances (particularly access to the site or impacts in the immediate vicinity that could not have been anticipated in the overall transportation investment strategy for the system). Concurrency conclusions in this Comprehensive Plan do not excuse projects from SEPA review. However, they do address major system infrastructure issues that must be properly administered under both SEPA and the Growth Management Act. 3. Timing and Project Scheduling Concurrency is obtained when public investments and programs are in place or planned to be available at the time of development or within a reasonable period of time following permit approval (within 6 years). In order to establish this condition, projects and programs have to be scheduled over the long-term horizon of the Plan in phases, with the first phase being the most specific and later phases more general. Under rapid growth conditions, where development permits produce growth that exceeds the average rate of increase toward the adopted 2012 growth assumptions, some delays or changes in the scheduling of commitments may have to occur. Annual revisions to the 6-year program may be required in order to make adjustments in the funding strategy or to focus transportation facility construction activities for planned projects into areas that are experiencing the most critical growth-related problems. Initially, however, as a planning assumption in the Plan, the concurrency program will assume a straight-line growth condition from the base year (2006) to the planning horizon year (2025). Project and program scheduling is conditioned by the availability of resources as well as the recognition that demand can be met by implementing low-cost demand management programs that substitute trip reduction for higher-cost capacity improvements. Scheduling of projects and programs may include programmed but unappropriated State or Federal money that could, if not received in a timely manner, alter the City's ability to achieve concurrency within a specific time period. However, the intent of the City's schedule, which includes assumptions about programmed State and Federal shares, is to establish a reasonably secure commitment to the improvement or program. Any money collected as mitigation to achieve concurrency will, in good faith, be assigned to the committed program. This improvement program will only assume the availability of funds that have been identified in its fiscal assumptions. These available funds form the basis for the determination that the City is capable of achieving concurrency during the planning period. Projects and programs that are identified in the investment program as wanted but unfunded may later be financed if new resources become available. However, these unfunded projects are not part of the long-range concurrency feasibility determination. Tables 4.1 through 4.3 list projects and programs for the Preferred Plan. TRANSPORTATION ELEMENT 67


4. Scheduling and Funding of State Facilities and Programs State transportation facilities are an important as well as an integral part of the transportation system and therefore affect City project scheduling as well as its ability to maintain concurrency. The scheduling and funding of State projects and programs are the responsibility of the State, but these projects and programs are approved for consistency regionally in a collaborative process through the Regional Transportation Planning Organization (the Puget Sound Regional Council). They must be coordinated with the growth management plans and programs of the region's jurisdictions. Acceptance by the State of the overall regional and local comprehensive plans assumes a policy commitment to support implementation of these plans through subsequent programming of planned State projects. Developer and City contributions for State projects will be included within the City's investment program. 5. Mitigation, Monitoring and Management Improvements and programs address all facilities that are involved in moving people and goods within the planning area, regardless of jurisdiction. The burden of mitigation to achieve concurrency is placed upon the system plan of improvements and programs which are themselves a strategy for implementing the City's Comprehensive Plan and Vision. A project-level test will be applied during development permitting to establish contributions and to monitor progress, but not to make planning policy decisions. Every development is assumed to be concurrent if it contributes its calculated fair share toward the implementation of the City's adopted investment strategy (including contributions for improvements to other jurisdiction's facilities in the City's planning area). The investment strategy is a general listing of projects and programs including general costs and probable timing (Tables 4.1 through 4.3). These transportation improvements reflect what the Preferred Plan is attempting to accomplish and the types of projects and programs that must be in place as development permits are issued to meet the system demand calculated from assumptions for planned population and employment growth. Any private share is a percentage of the planned improvements or programs and is proportional to the amount of growth planned within each sub-area. 6. Six-Year T.I.P. (Transportation Improvement Plan) The City annually approves a Six Year Transportation Improvement Plan, as required by the State of Washington, which identifies those transportation projects that will receive funding and/or be implemented within the following six years. This annual planning effort is based upon the priorities and policies of the Comprehensive Plan, and is automatically incorporated into the Transportation Element each year, as an implementing functional plan. V. State-Owned Transportation Facilities House Bill 1487, adopted by the State Legislature in 1998, requires that cities add a sub-element to their comprehensive plans related to State owned transportation facilities, and transportation facilities of statewide significance (even if not owned by the State). Specific revisions to the Transportation Element to be addressed herein are:

• An inventory of state-owned facilities within Everett’s Planning Area. • Estimate of traffic impacts to state-owned transportation facilities resulting from land use

decisions so performance can be monitored and improvements can be planned. • Documenting level of service standards for measuring state facility performance. • Identifying current and future state facility needs that are consistent with the statewide

multi-modal transportation plan. TRANSPORTATION ELEMENT 68


A. Inventory of State Owned Facilities The following are the State-Owned facilities located within the Everett Planning Area. Those designated HSS are Highways of Statewide Significance, as determined by the State.

1) US 2 (HSS) from ARM 0.00 to 0.31 (Urban Principal Arterial) – length 0.31 mi. 2) Interstate 5 (HSS) from ARM 186.48 to 196.05 (Urban Interstate) – length 9.57 mi. 3) SR 99 (Non-HSS) from ARM 46.87 to 51.67 (Urban Other Principal Arterial) – length

4.80 mi. 4) SR 526 (HSS) from ARM 0.91 to 4.52 (Urban Principal Arterial) – length 3.61 mi. 5) SR 527 (Non-HSS) from ARM 9.47 to 11.92 (Urban Principal Arterial) – length 2.45 mi. 6) SR 529 (HSS to Port, Non-HSS remainder) from ARM 0.00 to 6.71 (Urban Other

Principal Arterial) – length 6.71 mi. 7) SR 529 (spur) (HSS) from ARM 0.00 to 0.20 (Urban Other Principal Arterial) – length

0.20 mi. 8) SR 96 (Non-HSS) from ARM 0.00 to 4.70 (Urban Principal Arterial) – length 4.70 mi. 9) SR 525 (HSS) from ARM 2.43 to 3.53 (Urban Principal Arterial) – length 1.10 mi. (The

portion of SR 525 located within the City of Mukilteo, while abutting the designated Everett Planning Area, is not included in Everett’s inventory.)

B. Planned Improvements To State-Owned Facilities The following list describes the WSDOT planned improvements to State-Owned facilities within the Everett Planning Area: Table 5.1

WSDOT Planned Improvements in Everett Planning Area Route Location Improvement Time Frame US-2 I-5 to city limits HOV lanes 2012-2018 I-5 112th St. to US 2 Add NB and SB HOV lanes 2006-2008 I-5 SR 2 to north c/l Add NB and SB HOV lanes 2018 plus I-5 SR 2 Downtown Interchange Improvements 2012-2018 I-5 128th Street SW Interchange Improvements 2012-2018 SR96 I-5 to Seattle Hill Rd. Transit - HOV enhancements 2012-2018 SR99 SR 525 to 112th St Provide HOV and signal upgrades 2006-2012 In addition to the WSDOT planned improvements in Table 5.1, the City proposes further improvements to existing interchanges, new interchanges, and an extension of SR-526 east to US-2, as described in Section 4.2. C. Traffic Impacts to State-Owned Facilities The Transportation Element of the Everett Comprehensive Plan, 2006 Update, includes graphics generally representing the arterial streets and freeways that are expected to exceed generalized capacity in 2025 under the land use plan, even with planned improvements in place. These roadways include the following State highways:

1) Interstate 5, various segments 2) US 2 (unless mitigated with extension of SR-526)



3) SR 526 4) SR 99, south of Evergreen Way 5) SR 527 6) SR 96, (east of I-5 to SR-527)

D. Los For Highways of Statewide Significance The Level of Service for Highways of Statewide Significance is to be established by the State, not at the local level. E. Los For Other State Owned Facilities HB 1487 and implementing guidelines indicate that the Level of Service for state highways that are not highways of statewide significance shall be LOS “D” (mitigate for congestion). F. Concurrency Concurrency does not apply to transportation facilities and services of statewide significance, such as Interstate 5, US 2, SR 526, and portions of SR 529. No changes are proposed to requirements for the local system, which is governed by Ordinance No. 2425-99. The level of service for non-HSS State highways, such as SR 99 and SR 527 shall be LOS “D.” G. Transportation Facilities of Statewide Significance HB 1487 defines the following facilities and services as being of “statewide significance: 1. Interstate Highways Interstate 5 is the only interstate highway located in the Everett Planning Area. It is the major north-south corridor in the state, providing service as a route for interstate commerce, regional commute traffic, regional and local commerce, and transit service. While there are no requirements for concurrency on Interstate 5, improvements planned by WSDOT, the City of Everett, and Sound Transit include:

• extending the HOV lanes from SR 526 to US 2, and ultimately to Marysville; • high capacity transit parking facilities and HOV access facilities in the median

near 112th Street SE; and • improvements to several existing interchanges and new interchange facilities on I-

5. 2. Interregional Arterials, including Ferry Connections US 2 is the second highest volume east-west corridor highway in the State. Although less than 1/3 mile in length within Everett, US 2 traffic congestion has created significant congestion on Interstate 5 and local streets within Everett. Again, there are no requirements for concurrency for US 2. State plans for improvements to US 2 include ramp improvements and an additional HOV lane to reduce congestion. SR 526 is also considered an interregional arterial, because of the role it plays in providing access to the Boeing plant, and as a connection between Interstate 5 and SR 525, which provides access to the Mukilteo ferry terminal. The City proposes that SR 526 should also be extended east from I-5 to connect with US-2 to relieve congestion on I-5 and US-2.



3. Intercity Passenger Rail Services. Amtrak provides intercity passenger rail service through Everett for east-west and north-south rail service. 4. Major Passenger Inter-modal Terminals Everett Station, located at Pacific and Smith Avenues, is completed and is a full service inter-modal terminal providing access to a variety of modes. These modes include:

• Amtrak intercity passenger rail; • Commuter rail service as part of Sound Transit; • Regional and local transit provided by Sound Transit, Everett Transit, and Community

Transit; • Intercity bus service provided by Greyhound; • Park and ride lots; • Taxi service; • Bicycle trail connections and on-site facilities; and • Pedestrian connections to downtown Everett.

The station also includes office space, commercial space, and educational space and is expected not only to be the hub for transportation services in Everett, but also a catalyst for potential land use changes around the station. 5. Freight Railroad System The BNSF mainline includes the railroad line that skirts Everett’s shoreline and passes below downtown Everett through an existing tunnel and continues to the southeast. Other BNSF rail freight facilities include the C-line to Canada, the Bayside line serving the Port of Everett, and the Delta Yard and Bayside switching yard. Each of the rail lines in Everett carries enough rail freight to qualify as strategic freight corridors. Railroad and street crossing grade separation projects planned in Everett include:

• Lowell-Snohomish River Road crossing of the BNSF mainline • Everett Avenue Overcrossing of the BNSF Canadian Line. • Pacific Avenue Overcrossing of the BNSF Canadian Line.

6. Marine Port Facilities The Port of Everett is a major shipping port for imports and exports, including commodities produced in Washington and exported internationally. The port district generally finances its own improvements or partners with other funding agencies to construct transportation improvements serving this trade activity. 7. High Capacity Transportation Systems Sound Transit is the regional agency responsible for providing high capacity transportation services. In addition to the commuter rail and bus service to be provided at Everett Station, additional service is provided to other locations in Everett. Further transit capital facilities to be partially funded by Sound Transit include the South Everett Transit Center at the Everett Mall, and the North Everett Transit Center to be located within the Ma ster Plan for Everett Community College. A park and ride lot and HOV direct access ramps to Interstate 5 are planned by Sound Transit in the vicinity of 112th Street and Interstate 5. The City of Everett has proposed a long-term plan for the extension of LINK light rail to ultimately provide service to Everett Mall, Everett Station, Everett Community College, and the Boeing industrial plant. The City will work with Sound Transit to design and implement this plan.



8. Regional Transportation Planning Organization (RTPO) The Puget Sound Regional Council (PSRC) is the RTPO serving King, Kitsap, Pierce and Snohomish counties. The RTPO process established under the Growth Management Act will continue to serve as the forum for coordinating regional transportation planning and federal funding decisions. The City of Everett is active, and will continue to be active in this regional transportation planning forum.

(Ordinance #3010-07, effective 8-7-07)


Date post:	24-Oct-2021
Category:	Documents
Upload:	others
View:	10 times
Download:	0 times

Transportation Element - Official Website | Official Website

Documents