Puyallup looks again to lessen traffic backups on busy Shaw Road by adding lanes
Puyallup City Council members agree more work needs to be done on Shaw Road, but they’re concerned about the funding.
Council member at-large Dean Johnson said in knocking on doors across the city, Shaw Road is a common topic.
“What I’ve heard is Shaw Road is a tremendous source of tension because of the congestion,” he said in a June 15 council meeting.
The city paid KPG Consultants for an independent study through a $650,000 grant. The traffic corridor study looked at Shaw Road from 12th Avenue Southeast and 23rd Avenue Southeast, but focused on backups from East Pioneer through 23rd Avenue Southeast.
For evening rush hour, the city’s standard requires that Shaw Road’s “level of service” not drop below an “E” in a grading scale of “A” through “F.” The traffic study estimates that by 2040, Shaw Road will be rated an “F” for over-capacity flows if the city does not expand the road.
There were four options presented to the council on the future of Shaw Road from East Pioneer through 23rd Avenue Southeast: no build, add one lane, add two lanes or add three lanes.
City engineer Hans Hunger told the council the staff recommends adding two lanes, for a total of four lanes between the intersections. Currently, Shaw Road is a four-lane road with an occasional middle turn lane between Main Street and south of East Pioneer, but tapers into a two-lane less than 1,000 feet after the intersection.
Hunger believes an added southbound lane and two-way left turn lane would alleviate congestion.
“This would try and move more traffic — especially during the p.m. peak hours — through that intersection when there is a green light,” Hunger told the council.
Southbound travel time on Shaw Road from East Pioneer to 23rd Avenue is estimated to decrease from 4 minutes and 40 seconds to 2 minutes and 51 seconds with the four lanes.
Many commuters see traffic on Shaw Road as inevitable, and this would not be the first construction to try to fix it.
Three years ago, the city closed off lanes to work on the stretch south of the potential project.
In 2018, the city began an eight-month, $7 million project to widen Shaw Road between 23rd Avenue to Manorwood Drive. The project added a continuous left-turn lane, crosswalk, sidewalk, shared-use path and median, and replaced the sewer line along the road.
The “very preliminary” cost of four-lane expansion is $55 million. Council member Robin Farris said she believes the project should be done in phases.
All the council members agreed that because some of the traffic stems from development south of the city limits, Pierce County should contribute to costs. In 2017, the county’s South Hill Advisory Commission recommended expansion of Shaw Road from 39th Avenue Southeast to Sunrise Parkway.
“It’s regional, and I think it’s unfair for the City of Puyallup to have the same proportion of cost on this portion. That’s not going to fly,” Deputy Mayor John Palmer said in the council meeting. “We will chip in our fair share, but as we tackle this project, we want to be mindful of our citizens.”
Hunger told the council the city will begin discussing a partnership with the county.
In the evening rush hour commute, the consultants agreed with council member Cyndy Jacobsen’s concerns that, “if you build it, they will come,” leading to more drivers taking Shaw Road.
“All the ‘build’ scenarios increase the amount of demand served compared to ‘no build’ conditions by approximately 2,500 to 3,000 vehicles resulting in more traffic on Shaw Road corridor,” the study said. “Hence, all the ‘build’ conditions results should be compared to ‘no build’ conditions with this increased served demand in context.”
Hunger said he wants to continue to study and research the northbound traffic during morning commutes. Construction would also add a sidewalk, stream culverts with fish passage treatments and street lighting.
The city is looking to hold two public workshops for input and continue studying options. Staff is still determining dates for the open houses, spokesperson Eric Johnson said.
This story was originally published July 12, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
