Sequim Planning Commission reviews draft transportation chapter, targets signal upgrades and Prairie Street complete-streets project
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Summary
The Planning Commission examined the draft transportation chapter for Sequim's comprehensive plan, focusing on vehicular LOS standards, new pedestrian/bicycle 'level of stress' metrics, signal‑timing and cabinet upgrades, a multi‑phase Prairie Street complete‑streets project (estimated $8.5M+), and options to fund improvements including impact-fee updates and Transportation Benefit District bonding.
The Sequim Planning Commission on July 15 reviewed a draft transportation chapter that staff says will tie Growth Management Act requirements to a 20‑year project list and a six‑year capital program. Planning staff and the city engineer outlined how vehicle level‑of‑service (LOS) standards, multimodal mapping and financing will be integrated into the comprehensive plan.
Carla, the staff presenter, said the chapter is organized around GMA requirements including an existing‑conditions section, LOS standards, travel‑demand forecasts, a financing analysis and new pedestrian/bicycle provisions the state added in 2024. "We need to make sure that what our land use and our growth projections for housing units and jobs are integrated into the transportation planning," she said.
City engineer Nick gave a plain‑language explanation of LOS thresholds (A ≤10 seconds delay; B 10–20s; C 20–35s; D 35–55s; E 55–80s; F >80s) and noted the Sequim Avenue–Washington Street downtown intersection is designed at LOS F. "Even though an intersection might have a level‑of‑service F, a local jurisdiction can determine that that's an acceptable level of service," he said, adding that some delay differences are a matter of seconds and local tradeoffs.
Staff emphasized that the TMP will produce travel‑demand forecasts using the city's growth allocation and identify intersections expected to fall below adopted LOS, then list multimodal projects to address those shortfalls. The chapter also incorporates pedestrian and bicycle 'level of stress' (PLTS/BLTS) mapping to evaluate safety and comfort for walkers and cyclists.
On options to improve flow, Nick said the city is pursuing signal‑timing coordination on the east–west Washington corridor, hardware upgrades (signal cabinets to add channels and more dynamic phasing), and alternate or parallel routes and complete‑streets projects to shift traffic off Washington. He cautioned the simplest physical fix — adding a lane in each direction on Washington — is infeasible without removing sidewalks.
Commissioners asked about timing and funding. Nick said signal cabinet procurement could be advertised in Q4 of this year with design in 2026 and construction in 2027; he estimated a best‑case timeframe for signal and Prairie Street upgrades into the early 2030s and described a preliminary Prairie Street planning estimate of about $8.5 million for design with another roughly $1–1.5 million for construction phases, subject to funding.
On revenue, staff described several funding approaches: updating impact fees tied to the TMP, indexing fees to inflation, periodic reviews of the capital facilities plan, continued pursuit of grants (TIB, STBG and programs that flow through the state or county), and the option to bond Transportation Benefit District (TBD) revenues to fund sidewalks and smaller projects that are poor candidates for competitive grants.
Several commissioners asked that document abbreviations (PLTS/BLTS) be defined in the policy text and flagged small editorial fixes; staff agreed to address those edits. Nick also said the city has applied for Safe Routes to School funding and has pursued Safe Streets for All for the North 3rd Avenue project.
The commission did not take formal action on the chapter at this meeting; staff asked commissioners to continue review of goals and policies in the packet and to forward any technical comments for incorporation into later drafts.
