Community Corner
Edmonds' Shell Valley Finally Getting an Emergency Access Road
Work begins this week to connect Pioneer Way to Main Street. The road will help residents who are often stranded during snowy weather.
Those living in Edmonds’ Shell Valley neighborhood enjoy their privacy, but it’s one that comes with a price. Since the neighborhood sits in a bowl with two dead-end vehicle entrances off Bowdoin Way—the steep and winding Pioneer Way and Park Road—residents can find themselves stranded during heavy snow. Police and fire vehicles, meanwhile, may struggle to maneuver snowy and slippery streets when responding to an emergency.
But after years of negotiations with city officials, relief is coming to the Pioneer Way portion of Shell Valley—called Shell Park II—in the form of a short 15-foot-wide emergency access road. It will replace some trees and a thicket of blackberry bushes while linking the northern end of Pioneer Way to Main Street.
Survey work begins Wednesday, with groundbreaking next week. The project is expected to be completed in October.
Because retractable concrete bollards will be installed, the access road is primarily intended for pedestrians and bicyclists. “The emergency access road can also be opened to accommodate first responders as needed at any time,” said Ed Sibrel, engineering technician in the city of Edmonds’ Engineering Division.
“Additionally, it can be opened by Public Works during severe weather that make access to the Shell Valley neighborhood from Bowdoin Way a dangerous proposition. During severe weather, it may also be opened for vehicular traffic.”
Access will be limited to Shell Valley residents to keep traffic volume low during inclement weather. “Although the pavement is 15-feet wide, the roadway itself is 20 feet in width, and should accommodate the careful driving that one adopts during snowy conditions,” said Sibrel.
The Shell Valley neighborhood was built in the mid-1960s, said Sibrel. It is named after Shell Creek, which runs through the neighborhood’s southern border and continues through Yost Park, which abuts the neighborhood’s west boundary.
City Council reports from 2003 show that residents voiced concern about a proposed extension of Pioneer Way to Main Street because it would invite more through-traffic. “Neighbors took a shine to their privacy and their quality of life,” said Sibrel, “so an actual thoroughfare became less and less of an option.”
An emergency access road became the focus on negotiations between residents and the city. “It was a major consideration for folks down there to approve the access and still be able to enjoy their privacy,” said Sibrel.
The Shell Valley emergency access road project is funded by a state appropriation of $250,000, a Washington State Department of Ecology grant of $100,000, and by the city of Edmonds.