International District Improvements Starting Soon on Highway 99

The City of Edmonds is expected to begin construction soon on a landscaping and beautification project to enhance aesthetics, create a gateway and improve pedestrian safety on Highway 99 in the Edmonds International District.

The project is expected to be completed this summer, said City of Edmonds Cultural Services manager Frances Chapin. She is the project manager, with assistance from the Engineering Department and under the supervision of the Economic Development director Stephen Clifton.

Authorization to advertise the International District Enhancements Project is on the agenda tonight at Edmonds City Council meeting.

Among the design elements:

• Replacing 13 existing poles with decorative street lighting in new foundations on the east side of Highway 99 from 230th St. SW to 220th St. SW
• Installing new decorative pedestrian light poles on the west side of Highway 99 south of 76th Ave. W with banner signage to provide district identity
• Resurfacing a median island with poor visibility at 76th Ave. W and Highway 99 with a colorful hardscape treatment and solar-lighted sculptural element as part of the visual gateway; also adding new Americans With Disability-compliant ramps to the sidewalk and intersections adjacent to the island
• Adding a Community Transit bench by the northbound bus stop at 224th St. SW to improve bus rider comfort.

In 2006, the City was awarded a $316,000 grant under the Transportation Enhancement Program to improve the aesthetics and pedestrian safety of the Edmonds International District.

Additional funding of $57,000 was awarded in 2008.

The project was originally scheduled for construction in 2009-10. The City then successfully applied for funding to increase the number of decorative lighting elements in the scope of work for the project area. 

The project was expanded in 2011 with an additional grant of $289,000 secured by the City for a total construction budget of $662,000 in federal funds.

The International District area, located approximately between 238th St. SW and 224th St. SW on Highway 99, is highly visible to drivers, transit riders and pedestrians, said Chapin.

Here's Chapin's overview of the project:

Although the average daily traffic count is approximately 35,000 drivers and Community Transit records over 1 million bus passenger trips per year along the Highway 99 corridor, this stretch of highway lacks a clear visual identity, and could benefit from pedestrian improvements.

In 2004, the City of Edmonds Highway 99 Task Force commissioned two consultant studies by the firms Makers and Berk & Associates to assess economic development, urban design and mobility for pedestrians and automobiles. The major recommendation was to work on identifying districts of activity within the corridor. Due to the growing cluster of international and ethnic merchants in one section, the obvious starting point was the Edmonds International District.

The District consists of numerous international-themed plazas. The City and business community would like to encourage more pedestrian activity between the different plazas on both sides of the highway.

Signage or artistic elements, which are lacking within the Edmonds International District, have proven effective in other international districts, such as around the Uwajimaya Village area in Seattle. As such, the City of Edmonds 2006 approved Streetscape Plan identified the area centering on the intersection of 76th and SR 99 as a key site for gateway identification.