City staff outline 67th Avenue plan to add sidewalks, bike lanes and street trees

City of University Place public-works staff on a project briefing described improvements planned for 67th Avenue, including continuous sidewalks and bike lanes on both sides of the street, new planter strips and street lighting, and targeted pavement work.

A staff presenter said the corridor will run from 40th Street north to 27th Street and that the typical cross section will include a bike lane in each direction plus a center turn lane or median islands where space allows. “We will have continuous bike lane and continuous sidewalk on both sides of the street by the time we’re done with everything,” the presenter said.

The design would remove the right-turn lane at the 40th Street intersection after a traffic analysis found it was no longer needed; that space would be used to install a planter strip and widen the pedestrian buffer, staff said. Missing ADA driveway ramps along the corridor will be upgraded as part of the work.

Funding and schedule: staff said the project is primarily funded through a federal grant that the state administers and that the team is awaiting state approval before advertising the contract. Project staff said they hope to advertise within a month and that construction could begin roughly three months after advertising, putting a likely start in summer; staff estimated the work will take the better part of a year to complete.

Impacts and mitigation: where recent pavement overlays exist, staff said they will avoid full resurfacing and limit pavement overlay to a short stretch identified in the presentation. Adjacent to the golf course, the planter strip will be narrowed to avoid impacts to mature trees on private property; the project will place street trees on the opposite side of the street where room allows.

Tree selection: staff noted the city’s experience with an older maple species on nearby Grandview that later caused root-related sidewalk problems and said the project will favor species used successfully in recent work, such as linden and snowberry, which staff said are better suited for narrow strips. Staff pointed to mature examples on Sirk Drive as models that have not damaged sidewalks.

Community input and next steps: staff asked attendees to add name and contact information in the meeting chat and offered a Title 6 public-involvement form that can be returned to the project team. Staff said they will add people who provide contact details to the project distribution list and encouraged anyone with questions to reach out to project staff; they identified Kyle Maran, senior project engineer, as a responsive point of contact for follow-up.

Closing: project staff closed the briefing by inviting questions, noting that the team will post forms and project materials online, and expressing enthusiasm that the project is moving forward. “We are excited for this project to be moving forward,” a staff member said.

The presentation did not include formal votes or regulatory decisions; the next procedural steps noted were state approval of the grant administration, advertising for bids, and subsequent award and construction scheduling.