Consultants say congestion could nearly triple on 200th Avenue Court East
By Dennis Box
The Courier-Herald
A 20-year transportation plan was presented during an open house Thursday at Bonney Lake High School.
The forum gathered staff from the city's Public Works Department and Planning Department, along with Pierce County and the Washington state Department of Transportation.
The city staff presented the 20-year transportation overview to the public and local politicians to gain information on the proposed projects.
“We're looking at 2015 and 2025 based on land use planning,” Public Works Director Dan Grigsby said. “We will go to the council with the information we collect on various projects and they will decide the priority.”
The staff will prioritize based on congestion and safety and where the public perceives the biggest problems are.
“The total project list will be in the millions,” Grigsby said “We will see which ones rise to the top.”
Grigsby said the six-year transportation improvement program gives some idea of the projects that may move ahead.
The projects include intersection improvements at the following areas:
€ South Prairie Road East at state Route 410 and 198th Avenue East
€ SR 410 at Sumner-Buckley Highway
€ SR 410 at 234th Avenue East
€ SR 410 at 225th Avenue East
€ Angeline Road East at Sumner-Buckley Highway
€ 200th Avenue Court East at 104th Street East
€ Angeline Road East at Rhodes Lake Road East
€ Sumner Buckley Highway at 198th Avenue East
€ Church Lake Road at West Tapps Highway East.
Driving the South Prairie Road improvements is Cascadia's 6,500 home development and Falling Water's 1,000 home development.
According to the consulting firm, The Transpo Group from Kirkland, by 2025 the intersection of 104th Street East and 200th Avenue court East will see a 290 percent increase in traffic volume during afternoon peak hours. The intersection of 200th Court East and South Prairie Road will see a 101 percent increase.
The city is in the process of acquiring right of way to expand South Prairie Road to accommodate the current congestion.
Another major aspect of the plan will be improvements to SR 410 between 214th Avenue East and 234th Avenue East, known as Eastown.
While this is principally a state-funded project, the city has requested a number of features.
“(SR) 410 would be four lanes with a center median and landscaping,” Associate Planner Elizabeth Chamberlain said. “There would be planter strips on each side with sidewalks.”
A signal light would be placed at about 225th Avenue East with two left turn pockets from each direction.
Chamberlain said the city would like to annex the area between SR 410 East to 96th Street East.
“We'd like to turn 96th into a wider two lane with planter strips and sidewalks,” Chamberlain said.
The plan will be presented to the council in late November or early December.
Dennis Box can be reached at dbox@courierherald.com.
