Public Works staff said the county’s consultants have completed an initial draft of a comprehensive safety action plan for Snoqualmie Pass and expect to release the draft for public comment later this month or in early September.

The draft grew out of a Safe Streets for All grant-funded effort to evaluate safety and capacity at Snoqualmie Pass, a location that staff said posed unusual challenges because crash data and the typical safety metrics “didn't exist in the same capacity” as elsewhere in the county, prompting an emphasis on community engagement.

Cameron Curtis, Public Works, said the project has relied on a stakeholder group formed “consisting of all interested parties” including business owners, homeowners, county planning and maintenance staff, the sheriff’s office, Washington State Patrol and participating King County planning staff. Curtis said the local fire district was also “quite vocal and involved throughout the effort.”

Curtis said the consultant has “completed the initial draft for the safety action plan,” and that the county will invite public comment on the draft before producing a final plan later this year. He added that he would “not at all be surprised if [stakeholders] reached out to provide comments, directly to the board,” and asked that any such correspondence be forwarded to Public Works so it can be incorporated into the final draft.

There was no formal action or vote during the study session. Staff presented the update for information only and did not request a decision from the commissioners.

Next steps, as described by Public Works, are releasing the draft for public comment (draft timing described as later this month to early September), collecting and integrating stakeholder comments, and producing a final safety action plan later in the year. The county did not specify exact public-comment dates or the format of the comment period beyond advising the board that comments may be sent directly by stakeholders.