OLYMPIA – A bill that will result in increased economic vitality in the 1st Legislative District was passed by the House of Representatives yesterday. House Bill 1520 will turn a section of State Route 527 into a suburban multiway boulevard with pedestrian walkways and bikeways.
“The City of Bothell is undergoing an extraordinary urban renewal at this time and this legislation will enhance the ongoing vitality and potential to redevelop this corridor,” said Rep. Luis Moscoso (D-Mountlake Terrace), the bill’s sponsor. “By removing this portion of 527 from the state highway system and transferring it to the City of Bothell, there will be a more desirable balance between regional and local mobility needs. It will also help to better connect the newer part of the city in Snohomish County with the older part in King County.”
State Route 527, also known as the Bothell – Everett Highway, is a state highway in King and Snohomish counties that extends 11.92 miles north from SR 522 in the city of Bothell, to an interchange with Interstate 5, SR 99, and SR 526 in Everett. The route serves as a connector between Bothell, Everett, and Mill Creek.
The measure, requested by the Transportation Commission, will turn over the responsibility of a 2.51-mile section of State Route 527 from the state to the City of Bothell. The transferred section begins at State Route 522 and ends at Interstate 405.
Commission officials said that interstate 405 carries the majority of traffic from north to south and to Bothell itself, which is the function that SR 527 had prior to the construction of I-405.
“This bill is an important part of sustaining a livable, walkable, and economically vibrant city center in Bothell,” said the bill’s co-sponsor, Rep. Derek Stanford (D-Bothell).
According to the City of Bothell’s description, “the SR 527 Multiway Boulevard project balances the competing needs of roadway capacity, local access, street parking, urban density, and pedestrian comfort. The multiway boulevard is a street type unlike any other in the Puget Sound and like few in America. It provides for vehicle mobility much like other streets; two lanes in each direction with alternating left turn lanes. Bordering these lanes are tree lined medians – the first buffer between fast moving vehicles and the slow paced pedestrian realm. The pedestrian realm includes a slow moving access lane, parallel parking stalls, and a gracious tree lined, wide-sidewalk. This configuration provides a wide buffer between the auto-oriented arterial traffic and pedestrians strolling beside storefronts. The side access lanes will accommodate bicycle users as well.”
Moscoso’s bill now heads to the Senate for further consideration.