So you’re biking on the Interurban North bike route that connects Seattle to Everett and many communities in between, and you get to 40th Ave W. You’re about halfway between downtown Seattle and downtown Everett. You could probably use a snack.
Well, Lynnwood’s got you covered. The first project of their nearly-complete Interurban Trail Master Plan is scheduled to open later this year, and it features something I’m not sure I’ve seen before in a trail plan: Edible berry bushes planted specifically so folks passing by can stop for a very fresh snack.
Work is also nearing completion on a filling in a short trail gap between 212th St SW and Hall Lake.
https://twitter.com/LynnwoodStreets/status/1032657492075921410
Lynnwood’s City Council will discuss the 20-year master plan for their 3.8-mile section of the trail September 17. In the meantime, you can check out the concept below (images from the latest draft PDF):
More details from the City of Lynnwood:
The Interurban Trail is a 24-mile, regional, nonmotorized trail that stretches from Shoreline to Everett along the route once used by electric interurban rail cards. Lynnwood’s portion of the Interurban Trail is 3.8-miles long, continuing from Mountlake Terrace from the south at 212th St SW to the north end of the Alderwood shopping mall at the intersection of Ash Way and Maple.
With the pending completion of the last major missing-link of the corridor to further separate the trail from motorized traffic at 212th St SW, Lynnwood is shifting it’s focus to improving the overall utility and aesthetic of the trail through landscaping and amenities in order to create a safe and comfortable pedestrian and bicyclist environment that betters serves the community.
A planning effort to create a 20-year master plan with the aim to better understand the community’s needs of the Interurban Trail, how it can function better, and support improvements to be a stronger community asset began is nearing completion. The draft report is currently available for review and comment at: http://www.lynnwoodwa.gov/
City-Services/Engineering- Services/Public-Projects-and- Programs/Parks-and-Trails/ Interurban-Trail-Improvements. htm . The final report will be presented to the Lynnwood City Council on Monday, September 17, 2018. This plan outlines a number of improvement projects planned for the corridor including the 40th Avenue West Trailhead project currently under construction and 212th St Missing Link (see below).
For additional information, or to stay up-to-date on all the Master Plan and trail projects, sign up for eNews by clicking on the yellow “construction updates” button on the project page.
Comments
5 responses to “Blueberry-picking plaza is among the first of many Interurban Trail improvements Lynnwood plans”
Improvement is good. :) Would be nice if this round of improvements included a real bike/ped trail on the N.E. corner of the Park and Ride lot. While the section through the parking lot is short, it’s bumpy, sharply curved, narrow in spots, and, well, not a trail. Someday maybe!
Presumably it will get re-developed by ST as part of the Lynnwood Link. Currently, it’s mostly replaced by a detour through the parking lot while they drill shafts in the adjacent “nature” area.
Fwiw, it was still better than the segment behind Target / Cost Plus / Homewood Suites, which remains essentially unused until the Maple drainage project is completed in Nov. Seems like a missed opportunity for improvements.
That closure at the top of the I5-405 split with no actual detour really sucks, especially if you miss the single cryptic sign 1 mile North of the closure. But at least it seems they’re getting a lot of the Interurban work done at roughly the same time. I look forward to seeing it all back together.
SnoCo punted on the detour when they realized there wasn’t a safe one (164th, Filbert), though it’s not like the Maple shoulders was a great to begin with.
Ideally, this project would have been started after an IUT flyover of the I-5/405 junction connected Beech (aka behind Target) to Maple/Butternut. But that’d be its own multi-million dollar affair.
Blueberries! Snacks in summer and glorious fall color that doesn’t make a giant leaf mess.
Think of the path finding possibililities – {blueberry, blueberry, bike} repeat throughout the land.