What I have accomplished in helping plan and fund a round a bout on state route highway 203 and Tolt Hill Road

I want to highlight the remarkable accomplishments in helping to plan and fund the construction of a roundabout at the intersection of State Route Highway 203 and Tolt Hill Road. Councilmember Ryan Burrell and I were tasked with this exciting project earlier this year by our City Council. We have taken this interjurisdictional project on with fervor!

I have put in a lot of time and commitment into enhancing our city's infrastructure in order to ensure the safety and convenience of our residents. Here are some key achievements:

✅ Traffic Safety: The roundabout project will be designed in the future to improve traffic flow and enhance safety at this critical intersection. The dedication of the Safety Committee will prioritize the well-being of our community members. Car and accidents and injuries have driven the committee to champion this project, which promises to reduce accidents and congestion.

✅ Funding Advocacy: My relentless efforts to secure funding for the roundabout have been pivotal in making this project a reality. I have enjoyed collaborating with regional agencies, researching grants, and rallying support from various stakeholders.

✅ Community Engagement: Throughout the planning and development process, I have remained attentive to the concerns and suggestions of our residents. The key has been open communication and willingness to listen and reflect, thus ensuring that the roundabout project serves the needs of the community.

✅ Economic Benefits: The completion of the SR 203-Tolt Hill Road roundabout is expected to have positive economic impacts, facilitating smoother traffic flow for local businesses and residents alike. The Safety and Economic Development Committee’s forward-thinking approach to community development is creating a thriving and interconnected Carnation.

Our city is deeply invested in the betterment for our citizens. I am proud of my tireless work on the roundabout project. I feel passionately about serving the people of Carnation and fostering an environment of progress and improvement.

As this project continues to unfold, we can look forward to a safer and more accessible Carnation.

Snoqualmie Valley Mobility Coalition Priorities

https://svtbus.org/

2024 SVMC Work Plan Priorities Priority

#1: Advocate for coordinated regional & local policies/codes to support transportation services and infrastructure. Priority

#2: Advocate for equitable mobility systems to accommodate vulnerable populations, including veterans, seniors, immigrant, youth, & non-drivers, within the Snoqualmie Valley. Priority

#3: Continue partnering with Snoqualmie Valley jurisdictions, organizations, businesses, & other transportation providers to promote & support regional mobility options, opportunities, & resources available for community residents, employees, employers, & visitors. Priority

#4: Support Snoqualmie Valley Transportation in maintaining & expanding current services by assessing organizational needs, offering assistance, including but not limited to, continuously providing space at Coalition meetings, schedule reoccurring partnership meetings, & fostering joint promotional opportunities throughout the year.

Traffic through town

State Route 203 between Fall City and Monroe receives a significant amount of traffic, including use by residents outside of our district boundaries. This is a growing issue for communities along this corridor, especially the City of Carnation. Maintaining close communications with residents in North Bend, Snoqualmie, Fall City, Carnation, Duvall, and Monroe related to improvements to this state route is very important. I have been beginning my discussions with these communities and, in particular, officials near Carnation about how to seek solutions along this corridor and through their community. This route is not only being utilized as an alternative to other routes, leading to traffic and safety challenges in these communities, it is also a key route for freight mobility in Washington state.  I look forward to maintaining these conversations over the months and years ahead to seek improvements to the growing and important issue of the State Route 203 corridor.

I want a roundabout on SR 203 and Tolt Hill Road

I cannot begin to express my passion about getting a roundabout at Tolt Hill Road and State Highway 203. The main reason I’m running for Carnation City Council again is so that I see the plans for this project go through. The intersection is not only unsafe, it got a grade “F” from WSDOT. A grade “F” means that cars need to wait in traffic anywhere from 2 minutes to 2 hours before being able to drive safely again. 

 

The Safety Committee and the Economic Development Committee have seriously considered a citizen led open meeting where we invite both King County and WSDOT representatives in order to hear our complaints and concerns and ask “why they haven’t made any actionable steps?”

 

The Economic Development Committee,  (which consists of Ryan Burrel, and I,) spend most of our time, looking at grants and contacting our local representatives in order to make this happen.

 

Here is what we have found so far:

 

-the roundabout will cost about $3.5 million. The planner time and permitting process would cost roughly $1.5 million of that money. There are some snags in the way before anything could be built. (For example, the roundabout does not meet some SEPA regulations right now because part of the areas in a wetland.)

 

- the intersection is on a county road that intersects a state highway. I believe that, even though the roundabout is not in the City of Carnation limits, the City is made of people and our people only have one way out, and one way in to town. For me it’s a huge safety concern in case Tolt Dam ever breaks.

 

So far, this is what Ryan and I have done:

 

1. Contacted Sarah Perry‘s office and King County roads as a whole. 

 

2, I have been contacting the Washington State Department of Transportation since 2016 just as a citizen, far before I was a on City Council. 

 

3. We have contacted all of our state representatives. Currently, we are in the 12th district. Representatives  Goehner and Steele and Senator Hawkins represent us. Sen. Hawkins has been incredibly helpful in finding firm grant opportunities and giving ideas on how to get this roundabout.

 

4. I have been on the Snoqualmie Valley Transportation Committee and also the Snoqualmie Valley Transportation Task Force, which is an inter-jurisdictional transportation, advocacy group. I have learned a lot about grants through this process. 

 

5.  I have asked City Planners from Redmond, Sammamish and North Bend how their cities funded roundabouts. 

In result, we do have a car tracker at where the roundabout would need to be in order to get accurate traffic numbers.


The current action step is figure out how many cars use that intersection. Next, the grant writing process will start. Here are the main intrigues that we plan on using for finding:

 

1. “Move ahead Washington” funding that was recently passed through the House and Senate.

 

2. FEMA safety grants (due to the flood risk)


3. The United States Department of Transportation has a grant program that we might qualify for because it does not include the caveat of walk ability to public schools.


Are you interested in the future of King County?

Please give your comments on the Snoqualmie Valley/Northeast King County Subarea Plan Public Review – from June 1 to July 15

King County wants to hear from you, seeking input on the Public Review for the Snoqualmie Valley/NE King County Subarea Drafted Plan, between now and July 15, 2023. The Subarea Plan 20-year Plan outlines a vision for the community and policies to help achieve the Subarea vision for the Snoqualmie Valley and Northeast King County. Topics covered include land use and zoning, housing and human services, transportation, environment, open space, parks, services, utilities, and economic development. Review, comment on plan: www.publicinput.com/SnoValleyNEKC.

Fun facts about Homes in Carnation

According to our Housing Needs Assessment:

  1. It is estimated that Carnation had approximately 806 housing units in 2020. Carnation’s housing stock is made up of a mixture of types of housing unit types, but majority of the housing units (83.5 percent) are single-family homes.

  2. Most of Carnation’s housing units have 3 or 4 bedrooms

  3. Approximately 82 percent (664) of the housing units in Carnation are owner occupied. The majority of Carnation’s housing stock was built prior to 2000 (84 percent).

  4. In 2020, there were approximately 782 households in Carnation with an average household size of 2.77.

 

It's getting hot! Let's prevent wildfires.

Looking ahead on wildfire issues

The state wildfire season is unfortunately growing longer. It is not even a wildfire “season” anymore because fires are occurring as early as April and some aren’t totally extinguished until a heavy rain or snowfall late in the year. Wildfires are no longer just impacting areas in central or eastern Washington. We’re seeing wildfires west of the Cascades, also. This is having a significant and growing impact on our state budget and local communities. The Legislature has taken positive steps forward recently on wildfire policy with my bills and others. The issue of wildfires and wildfire suppression should continue to be high on our list. In addition to state efforts, the federal government is also stepping up funding for wildfire prevention, which is expected to complement the state’s strategy. To read more about recent decision’s related to the federal investment in wildfire, click on the article below: