Officials gathering support for call-to-action on SR 522

Monroe Mayor Geoffrey Thomas is working with Sultan Mayor Carolyn Eslick, U.S. 2 Safety Coalition chairman Fred Walser and other local leaders on a call-to-action to state lawmakers to fully fund the State Route 522 widening project.

Thomas attended the Monroe School Board meeting on Monday, Oct. 12, urging members to adopt a formal resolution regarding S.R. 522. The resolution requests that the state designate sufficient funding to finish S.R. 522 improvement projects, including widening the roadway from Paradise Lake Road to the Snohomish River and creating an interchange at Paradise Lake Road. The school board passed the resolution unanimously.-á

Thomas presented the same resolution to Monroe city councilmembers on Tuesday, Oct. 13. Walser asked the council to consider its adoption during the meeting's public comment period.

The U.S. 2 Safety Coalition has decided to also take on S.R. 522, said Walser, who spends several months a year in Olympia lobbying legislators about the need for traffic safety improvements in the Sky Valley. This session, he spent January, February and March pushing lawmakers to fund a $58-million four-lane expansion project from the Maltby area to the Snohomish River. The Legislature was working on the transportation revenue package, and Walser said he worked with key lawmakers to have the $58-million S.R. 522 project included.

"We came within a whisker of having that inserted in the revenue package. When I left, I was assured that it would be added by the chair of the senate transportation committee, however, several weeks later I found out that partisan politics had entered into the parade and that was removed,GÇ¥ Walser said. "That's a tragedy for all of us who live up here, as well as the residents of Seattle and King County who use that road to go to Stevens Pass.GÇ¥

Sky Valley residents are all too familiar with the bottleneck that occurs after the Paradise Lake Road intersection on S.R. 522. The two lanes of S.R. 522 merge into one as soon as northbound drivers pass through the Paradise Lake Road stoplight, leading to a nightly backup that stretches the entire length of S.R. 522 as it winds northeast. Even during off-peak hours, travelers often encounter sluggish traffic as drivers attempt to merge into one lane north of Paradise Lake Road.

Walser is already planning on returning to Olympia to continue pushing for the improvements in 2016.

"I intend to be back in Olympia, pounding on their doors again, asking for an insertion of $58 million into the transportation budget to start to finish that highway now; not years from now, but now,GÇ¥ Walser said. "We all understand the congestion if you've driven 522 at all at night ' it's pathetic.GÇ¥

Walser urged councilmembers to pass the resolution, saying a united front will strengthen the appeal.

"We believe if the state can spend $8.4 billion dollars digging a hole in Seattle, they can spend $58 million dollars to do something beneficial for drivers on 522,GÇ¥ Walser said. "If we can line up and unite behind this resolution, I think it will swing a lot of weight and make it much easier in Olympia to sell this project.GÇ¥

Councilmember Kevin Hanford moved to adopt resolution, which carried 5 GÇô 0, with Councilmembers Jeff Rasmussen and Kurt Goering absent.

In order to consolidate efforts and present a united front, Thomas and Eslick reached out to Snohomish County Council Chairman Dave Somers in hopes of having S.R. 522 improvements added to the county's 2016 legislative agenda. They penned a formal letter, which referred to the completion of the S.R. 522 widening project as a matter of "paramount importanceGÇ¥ to Sky Valley residents and employers.

To view resolution 020/2015, visit http://monroewa.gov/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/1109. For further updates from Thomas, visit www.facebook.com/MayorThomas360.