Construction to prepare Lynnwood Transit Center for light rail and build a parking garage will close the Interurban North Trail between 52nd Ave W and 44th Ave W for two years starting May 12, according to Sound Transit.
This is a significant change from the initial closure schedule announced in the fall, which anticipated only two months of closures in 2021 and six months in 2022.
The detour route is unchanged from the initial announcement. It includes a busy stretch of 200th St SW and the sidewalk of 44th Ave W (there is no curb cut from 44th to the trail, so the sidewalk is the only option unless Sound Transit adds a ramp). I suspect most users will use the sidewalk on both 200th St and 44th Ave in both directions, even though it’s really not wide enough for heavy mixed use. Cedar Valley Rd and 52nd Ave W both have painted bike lanes.
The Interurban North Trail is the primary bike route from Everett to Seattle and points in between, following the right-of-way from a former electric streetcar line (this is the “Interurban” those statues in Fremont are waiting for). The last train ran in 1939, and many parts of the right-of-way have since been chopped up, especially by the construction of I-5. Surviving sections serve as vital sections of an important regional bike route, but there is a lot of work to do to make it a complete route comfortable for people of all ages and abilities to use.
Beginning Monday, July 12, Sound Transit will close the Interurban Trail between 52nd Ave W and 44th Ave W near the Lynnwood Transit Center for ten months, reopening on May 1, 2022. A detour will be provided for trail users. During the closure, crews will continue building the Lynnwood City Center Station, the new parking garage and restore the Scriber Creek area.
What
In July, the Interurban Trail will close for ten months to allow for construction of the Lynnwood City Center Station.
When
Closure beginning Monday, July 12 and reopening on May 1, 2022.
Where
The Interurban Trail will be closed between 52nd Ave S and 44th Ave W. (see map)
More
- Follow all detour signage and stay within marked trail detours.
- Due to inclement weather or unforeseen issues, dates and times are subject to change
Comments
7 responses to “Alert: Interurban North Trail will close for 10 months near Lynnwood Transit Center”
Wow, that’s shitty.
Almost as bad as the trail pavement behind Target …
Too right! Used to that was the “bad part”! LOL
Dang, that is a long time to be on a sidewalk for my daily commute. Folks won’t like that, but that is how I get to work.
And, again, we see the double standard. Sound Transit would never be able to get away with just closing a major car road for 10 months. But, when it’s a trail, “well, it’s only just bikes”.
As long as trails are part of Parks & Rec, you can be sure that they won’t be treated as an important part of the transportation system.
When Maple was closed to fix flooding the county totally punted on identifying a detour, probably due to safety concerns. At least this time they’re publishing something.
Hopefully they put up signage along the detour so motorists know they need to cope with “trail users”
FYI, if you expect cyclists to “run with the bulls”, you are selecting for aggressive cyclists.
Just an FYI: The start date for the detour has changed, according to the Transit web page referenced above, to July 12. The end date appears to be the same May 1st, 2022. I haven’t seen too much change in my commute, but there does appear to be some potential work being done to shelter riders on 44th – Northbound anyway. We’ll see.