Road Safety, Traffic, and Congestion
Residents are concerned about congestion and busy, unsafe roads.
Compelling data shows that building new or wider roads does not solve traffic congestion; instead, within five years congestion and travel times return to their original pre-expansion levels. Washington State Department of Transportation spent 75% of its capital budget on expanding roads from 2004 to 2011 and increased lane capacity only by 1%. Your tax dollars are being spent on new roads (that will not fix congestion), while we continue to underfund maintenance for our aging roads.
Lynnwood residents want a walkable and transit-accessible city, which is critical to addressing our congestion and road safety. Unfortunately, we continue to spend tens of millions of dollars on road projects that prioritize car traffic over people, limit City Center’s transformational potential, and isolate Lynnwood residents who are unable or prefer not to drive.
We need to genuinely prioritize multi-modal transportation: traveling by car should be an option, but not the only option. Our streets should be designed for all Lynnwood residents as Complete Streets, to reduce pedestrian and cyclist injuries and motor vehicle collisions.
We need to partner with Community Transit, Sound Transit, and our regional stakeholders to provide residents with a robust, first-class transit system, supplemented by pedestrian and cyclist-oriented infrastructure. We need to not only focus on helping residents take advantage of the upcoming light rail station; we need walking, biking, and transit to be attractive, viable options for getting around the city to our parks, restaurants, shopping, and entertainment areas.
Collectively, these will balance the needs of all road users - vehicle drivers, transit, pedestrians, and bicyclists - to prioritize Lynnwood residents spending more time in our neighborhoods, rather than prioritizing people traveling through our neighborhoods. We can make our city safer, healthier, and more accessible - while inspiring transformational economic gains.
