SR 99 from Lynnwood to Everett
You turned your clock back. The birds are singing. It's lighter later. And – dare to dream – the rainy season may soon be over. Spring is just around the corner, and so too is a new vision for SR 99 from Lynnwood to Everett. We are excited to share the final SR 99 Lynnwood and Unincorporated Snohomish County Pre-design Study report available on the study webpage.
Read on to learn about how and why we're trying to improve SR 99 for all travelers, what we've learned by talking to the community, and what's up next for our work.
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| Map showing the SR 99 study corridor from Lynnwood to unincorporated Snohomish County |
🎶I can see all obstacles in my way 🎶
We know that this section of SR 99 has its challenges. Originally designed for cars and commerce, SR 99 through Snohomish County has room for improvement when it comes to providing comfortable, reliable options for all modes of transportation.
In 2023, we received grants to study how to improve SR 99 to meet Complete Streets requirements and to better integrate SR 99 into the local network. One way we assessed what improvements are needed is by looking at the key challenges of the area based on data and community and agency feedback. Challenges identified include:
- Stressful conditions for people walking and biking.
- Incomplete bike and pedestrian facilities and missing connections.
- Large distances between controlled pedestrian crossings.
- Between 2019 and 2023, there were more than 60 fatal or serious injury crashes.
- Unreliable or lack of access to transit.
- Balancing the needs of freight and local traffic.
- Too few affordable, healthy travel options for everyone.
However, for all its challenges, this section of SR 99 has so many opportunities:
- Three Community Transit Swift bus rapid transit lines run along (Blue line) or cross (Orange and Green lines) the corridor.
- Link light rail is close by today, while a future unfunded Link station at SR 99 and Airport Road will serve the community.
- Existing and future planned Business Access and Transit lanes between 148th Street Southwest and Airport Road to help prioritize buses over other vehicles.
- Paine Field is just north of the area, serving as a major regional travel and employment hub.
- New housing options are being developed right along the corridor.
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| New housing is being built along the SR 99 corridor in Snohomish County |
🎶 Here is the rainbow I've been prayin' for 🎶
We wanted to hear what you, the community, thought about options to improve SR 99. And hear from you we did! We heard comments and feedback from nearly 1,000 people via tabling events, online open houses and surveys, and focus groups.
According to you, these are the most important investments we could make:
| Theme | Summary of Community Feedback |
|---|---|
| Better Transit Service | Community emphasized the need for buses to be on schedule and reliable. Community requested easier access to bus stops. |
| Pedestrian‑Level Amenities and Lighting | Community highlighted the importance of better lighting and a more welcoming streetscape for pedestrians, specifically landscaping and trees. |
| Slow Traffic Speeds | Community requested slower traffic speeds in locations where speeding and walking frequently overlap. |
| More Frequent Controlled Crossings | Community identified areas lacking controlled crossing spots, particularly around commercial areas and activity centers. |
Based on this feedback, we developed two types of recommendations.
The first type of recommendation was for corridor-wide concepts which show the details of a roadway like number of lanes, bicycle and pedestrian facilities and center median. There were two of these: separated bike lanes or shared-use paths.
Take a look at each of these:
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| Corridor-wide concept showing separated bike lanes and sidewalks alongside SR 99 |
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| Corridor-wide concept showing a shared-use path that combines walking and biking space behind a landscaped buffer |
While similar in that each recommended corridor-wide concept offers separate travel lanes for cars and buses, landscaping closest to the sidewalk, and improved pedestrian lighting, the big difference is how people walking or bicycling travel: either in separated bike lanes and sidewalks, or traveling together in a shared-use path. The idea for these two concepts is that they are interchangeable, depending on which concept makes the most sense in specific places.
The second type of recommendation are spot treatment packages which consist of multiple spot treatments in different types of locations. There are four spot treatment packages.
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| Examples of spot treatments that can make crossings shorter, clearer, and more comfortable for people walking and rolling |
The first spot treatment package, Enhancements at Traffic Lights, combines multiple spot treatments like crosswalks, pedestrian crossings and crossing islands that could be implemented where there is an existing traffic signal such as the intersection of SR 99 and SR 524/196th Street Southwest.
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| Package 1 combines multiple improvements that can be implemented at traffic signals to improve safety and comfort. |
The third spot treatment package, controlled pedestrian crossing, adds a new signalized crossing for pedestrians in between roadway intersections, which combines crosswalks, a pedestrian island, pedestrian signals, and improved lighting spot treatments.
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| Dedicated bus lanes can improve transit reliability while the corridor is redesigned to better support all travel modes. |
Check out our complete study to learn more about the corridor-wide concepts and the spot treatment packages plus where we might build them.
🎶Look all around, there's nothin' but blue skies 🎶
We're excited about the corridor-wide concepts and spot treatment packages you helped us develop. These will provide new and improved options for people to walk, roll, bike, take the bus or drive:
- Walk, roll, or bike: More dedicated space. Better connections to Swift buses along the corridor. Bike facilities. Improved sidewalks and crossings.
- Take the bus: Dedicated bus lanes mean more reliable arrival times and better connections to light rail.
- Drive: Maintaining four vehicle lanes (two in each direction). Access to residences, local businesses and services is maintained. Expect some traffic congestion during rush hour.
🎶 It's gonna be a bright (bright), bright (bright), sun-shiny day 🎶
Even though we finished our study, in a way, our work is just beginning.
We're going to keep working with the community and our partners at the cities of Lynnwood, Everett, and Edmonds, Snohomish County, Community Transit and Sound Transit. Together, we can figure out how to make these concepts reality.
Our study is only the first step. We will need additional funding, partnership and engagement to finish our work and build the complete vision.
Read more information on our project website: SR 99 Lynnwood and Unincorporated Snohomish County Pre-design Study | WSDOT
Take a 3-minute break with Jimmy Cliff, who inspired the theme of this blog post: https://youtu.be/MrHxhQPOO2c?si=Z68HwsNEQqBWnyii
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