City Engineer Kim Plankers and the capital projects team presented a summary of 2024 deliveries and a preview of 2025 capital work to the Lake Stevens City Council on Dec. 17, 2024, including Main Street downtown improvements, multiple multiuse path projects, pavement preservation and pilot traffic-calming measures under the Transportation Benefit Program (TBP).

Plankers introduced the team and said staff will bring a TBP implementation plan in January and the city's 2024 annual report next year. She highlighted a citywide striping project that refreshed 13 miles of lane and 140 crosswalks and said pilot speed-feedback signs and striping changes reduced the 85th percentile speed on an East Lake Shore Drive corridor from about 43 mph to 32 mph.

Capital projects manager Eric Mangold reviewed 2024 completions: an 8-to-10-foot multiuse path along 91st Avenue SE connecting three schools, the Baby Trail Phase 0 (a new multiuse segment including a bridge and dog park), and multiple pavement overlays and ADA updates. Mangold said the 91st project came in under budget after staff found an on-contract fix for drainage near Marketplace.

Looking to 2025, staff announced a preconstruction meeting for Main Street downtown renovations, set for early January, and confirmed utilities and overhead power will be placed underground as part of the streetscape work. Baby Trail Phase 0.5 (12th Street SE to 8th Street SE) is about 85% complete and expected to finish in 2025. Other planned work includes:

- 131st Avenue NE infrastructure improvements (sewer main plus an 8-to-10-foot multiuse path and bioswales).
- Frontier Heights Park Phase 2 (synthetic turf multiuse fields, four pickleball courts, an asphalt viewing area and a sensory garden) with grant funding noted.
- A downtown regional stormwater facility timed to support a new Snohomish Regional Fire and Rescue station, the Main Street roundabout and adjacent development.
- TBP pilot on 116th/117th Avenues to test converting parallel local streets to a one-way couplet and create a 10-foot multiuse loop, with emergency access retained; staff said the pilot aims for April 2025 public outreach and implementation.

Public Works Director Erin Alverson described the pilot as community-driven and intended to provide safer pedestrian amenities in a neighborhood where pedestrians currently walk in travel lanes. Alverson said staff will conduct outreach with emergency services, the post office and waste collection to ensure operational needs are met.

Engineering staff also described a bridge replacement project on 36th Street NE (preliminary budget ~$6,000,000) intended to replace a timber abutment and bring the crossing to collector-road standards with sidewalks and bike lanes. The Main Street roundabout design is at about 30% complete and funded in part by a federal earmark, with construction scheduled for 2026.

Councilmembers praised the connectivity and walkability improvements and asked staff to provide project pages and outreach links; staff said project pages will be posted and Zen City engagement pages used for public updates.