Study: Everett is worst city in U.S. for time spent in traffic gridlock (Seattle: 2013, apartments)

[MtnSurfer]

I knew it was bad there, just not this bad. Seattle is not too far behind either:
Everett is worst city in U.S. for time spent in traffic gridlock

I'm glad I decided not to move up there and add to the mess. We're looking for less impacted regions. Still, its a very serious problem with no easy solution in sight according to Washington's transportation chief:
Fixing traffic congestion 'impossible,' says Washington transportation chief

It sounds like he was having a bad day, perhaps?

Derek

[Seacove]

This is why it's frustrating that so many people are moving here. There are other places to choose.

[MtnSurfer]

Originally Posted by Seacove

This is why it's frustrating that so many people are moving here. There are other places to choose.

Realistically speaking, is there any end in sight? Seattle is the new coolest place to move to, or so it appears in looking at the rapid growth. The state's own transportation chief doesn't seem to think so.

Derek

[bartonizer]

I'm surprised that Everett is the worst. I mean there's always a bottleneck on I-5, especially around the Highway to 2 Junction, but other parts of the metro area seem worse, especially on the Eastside and south of Seattle including Tacoma and Olympia. But I guess the average Everett resident drives further than other places in the region.... Regardless, it surely cuts into one's standard of living for most people in the area, despite the higher salaries.

I thank my lucky stars that I'm able to avoid that mess in Bellingham, though it's impossible to avoid traffic when driving through Seattle.

[CrazyDonkey]

Everett's No. 1 status turned up when researchers ranked the amount of time commuters spent trying to get in or out of a city. The data showed that commuters in the Everett area spent 28 percent of their time in gridlock while trying to leave or enter the city and its suburbs. That was twice as high as New York City, which had 14 percent gridlock.

For getting in and out of Everett, the Highway 2 trestle is a major limiting factor.

Lake Stevens trapped by the Highway 2 trestle

“We have got communities here where people pull out of their driveway and they go a block, and they’re stuck,” [Lake Stevens Mayor John Spencer] said. “They have to queue-up to get out of their subdivision to get on the main road.”

[87112]

It does seem like the whole world has to move to Seattle or bust. I find it hard to think about the future of the city and region once all those new condos and apartments are filled.
We don't read about newcomers not liking the place in these WA forums. I figure the great ( I am assuming) tech jobs salaries override being stuck in traffic all the time.

[MtnSurfer]

Originally Posted by 87112

It does seem like the whole world has to move to Seattle or bust. I find it hard to think about the future of the city and region once all those new condos and apartments are filled.
We don't read about newcomers not liking the place in these WA forums. I figure the great ( I am assuming) tech jobs salaries override being stuck in traffic all the time.

I just couldn't do it after growing up in LA county and watching the same thing happen to my hometown. We lived in the outer rim of the county in the nice little beach town of Hermosa Beach. However, as the LA population growth exploded, the sprawl quickly spread, developers falling over themselves building out every last inch of available dirt. The traffic got progressively worse year after year with no end in sight. Then the same things spread like a cancer to Orange County, San Diego and Riverside Counties. Now its like one big over populated concrete jungle. Yet it continues to grow for some crazy reason.... The affects of too many people crammed into too small a space have many negative impacts on the environment and overall livability of an area. Just drive through LA and you'll see what I mean.

After many years of driving through the same nightmarish traffic you inevitably begin asking yourself if there is a better way one might live. I know, why not spread out some instead of living like flies to one small pile of 'honey?'




Derek

[CrazyDonkey]

The east-bound Highway 2 trestle was replaced in the 1990s with a three-lane structure, but leaving the aged two-lane westbound structure as now inadequate to handle burgeoning demand from population increases well beyond projections, in the Lake Stevens, Snohomish, Monroe, and adjacent areas. Costs for replacing the west-bound structure are estimated at $1 billion and above, depending on whether a three- or four-lane replacement is built.

https://www.heraldnet.com/news/tamin...u-s-2-trestle/

Meanwhile, another study released in January took a first crack at how to pay for a new interchange and trestle. No surprise the primary options included federal funds, a state gas tax increase, tolling, taxes collected through a transportation benefit district and a public-private partnership.

Under its “best-case scenario” — in which required studies are done on time and a source of funding locked in — construction could begin in mid-2023 and last around five years, according to this report.

Tolls, while unpopular, are very much part of the conversation, with uncertainty over both state and federal funding sources.

In the meantime, a possible second route is being discussed:

The idea is to extend Highway 526, also known as the Boeing Freeway, from I-5 to Highway 9 where a new bridge is to be built across the Snohomish River, and eventually to U.S. 2 in Monroe.

This would, however, likely cost another $1 billion and up.

[Jiff]

Northbound on I-5 in Snohomish County there are multiple stretches that commonly have backups. One common one is around the Everett Mall ramps. It starts there and goes on for 12 miles to Marysville, even though a lot of vehicles exit to Highway 2. Thing is, I-5 reduces to three lanes at the Stillaguamish bridge.

Isn't growth great? And the Snohomish County Executive and others are promoting more growth with the Economic Development Initiative: "The primary focus of the sector team is on driving economic growth and creating jobs. ... The Economic Development Initiative strengthens and grows our region through industry ..."

Maybe with more jobs in the county, those that have been priced out of King County, moving to places like Marysville, can find a nearby job instead driving to King county? Either way, traffic will just get worse.

[CrazyDonkey]

Light rail can't get there too soon - 18 years and counting (2036). In the meantime:

https://www.kiro7.com/news/north-sou...ears/797957413

A plan to re-zone downtown Everett for an expected boom in job and population growth heads to the city council Wednesday.

The plan aims to help Everett absorb new growth from people priced out of Seattle and create a more walkable atmosphere downtown.

The Metro Everett plan says there may be as many 60,000 people moving there within 20 years.