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Residents oppose one-way pilot on 116/117 NE; council schedules follow-up outreach
Summary
Multiple neighbors told the Lake Stevens City Council on June 3 that a one-way pilot on 116th/117th NE increased local traffic, created safety hazards for pedestrians and disrupted property access; council and staff scheduled additional outreach and data review with an on-site open house and a July 1 council briefing on results.
Dozens of nearby residents told the City Council on June 3 they oppose a pilot project that converted portions of 116th and 117th Northeast to one-way traffic and have urged the city to complete promised sidewalks.
"This is supposed to help decrease the traffic problems, and instead, it's causing more traffic on both 116th and 117th," said Laura Yidis, a homeowner on the affected block, saying the change forced longer routes, exposed residents who must move garbage bins across a pedestrian walkway at night and created a blind-turn collision risk.
Nut graf: Residents said the pilot increased traffic on parallel streets, reduced safe pedestrian access, and left longtime promises for sidewalks unfulfilled. City staff agreed to hold additional on-site outreach and to publish the survey data collected for the pilot; council set a tentative plan to discuss results at the July 1 meeting and to hold an open house in mid-June or mid-July depending on scheduling.
Residents, including Ray Welk and Billy Lyman, presented a neighborhood survey and counts — Welk said his survey showed roughly 95% of respondents opposed the pilot — and described children and seniors struggling to cross streets where crosswalks and sidewalks are missing. Multiple speakers called for permanent sidewalks connecting North Middle School and Lake Stevens High School to the lake and town center.
City staff told residents the pilot streets will be returned to their prior configuration on June 5 for the contractor's work, that a neighborhood open house is set (staff proposed June 18 on site and offered to extend hours to 37 p.m.), and that staff will bring compiled survey and open-house results to the council meeting on July 1. Staff also said they would consider holding an open-house meeting in a council meeting room to improve attendance.
Ending: Staff and council committed to additional on-site engagement, providing the collected survey data to residents and returning with the compiled results to council on July 1. Neighbors said they will continue to press for sidewalks and traffic-safety modifications in the affected area.
