At their August 12 work session the City Council will consider pavement marking options along the 236th Street SW corridor between 54th and Cedar Way. The meeting begins at 7:00 p.m. at the Interim City Hall located at 6100 219th Street SW in Mountlake Terrace. This is a follow-up to Council’s discussion and review at their July 14, 2010 meeting. The Council is expected to make a decision but there will be an opportunity for public comment before the decision is made. The options that will be presented before the Council are below in the press release.

The 2010 Street Seal Coat program provides a very cost effective opportunity to modify lane configurations when the street is restriped. The Transportation Master Plan (TMP), a policy document adopted by the Council in 2007, calls for bike facilities for the 236th Street SW corridor, which is a preferred east-west route for cyclists in Mountlake Terrace. This corridor will also connect to the future Lakeview Trail providing for an east-west route the length of the city.

Based on these factors, the following four pavement marking options will be presented to Council for consideration:

Option 1: Status Quo — maintaining the current configurations
48th to Cedar Way — 4 travel lanes; no parking; no bike lanes
54th to 48th — two travel lanes; parking both sides in most areas; no bike lanes

Option 2: Bike Lanes with North Side Parking —
48th to Cedar Way – three-lane configuration; no parking; bike lanes
54th to 48th — two travel lanes; parking on north side of 236th; bike lanes

Option 3: Bike Lanes with South Side Parking —
48th to Cedar Way — three-lane configuration; no parking; bike lanes
54th to 48th — two travel lanes; parking on south side of 236th; bike lanes

Option 4: Bike Lanes on East Half of Project —
48th to Cedar Way — three-lane configuration; no parking; bike lanes
54th to 48th — two travel lanes; parking both sides in most areas; no bike lanes

The recommendation is Option 2, which is consistent with the Transportation Master Plan adopted in 2007.

Overall, travel time along the corridor would be unaffected by the proposed parking modifications and conversion to a three lane configuration. Bicycle and pedestrian safety would be improved with the addition of bike lanes.

View MLT Proposed Bike Lanes in a larger map