City of Maple Valley takes first steps on road to develop a regional transportation model

The city of Maple Valley has a plan to look at the big picture for transportation and they are proposing to work with all the surrounding agencies. The ball got rolling after the Black Diamond hearing examiner, Phil Olbrechts, released his May 11 recommendation for approval of the YarrowBay master planned developments, The Villages and Lawson Hills, in Black Diamond.

The city of Maple Valley has a plan to look at the big picture for transportation and they are proposing to work with all the surrounding agencies.

The ball got rolling after the Black Diamond hearing examiner, Phil Olbrechts, released his

May 11 recommendation for approval of the YarrowBay master planned developments, The Villages and Lawson Hills, in Black Diamond.

Traffic from the developments hitting Maple Valley roads has been a concern to city officials.

More than 6,000 homes will be built in the two developments adding thousands of vehicles to the roads, including Maple Valley Highway, which already carries significant amounts of commuter traffic.

The city’s traffic expert, Natarajan Janarthanan with the Bellevue firm, Fehr and Peers, gave testimony about the potential congestion on Maple Valley roads at The Villages and Lawson Hills MPD application public hearings in March.

Olbrechts’ MPD decision recommended a new traffic model that would take in all jurisdictions affected by the developments.

Maple Valley City Manager David Johnston said the city set up a meeting Wednesday between staff representatives from Covington, Auburn, King County and the state Department of Transportation to form a traffic coalition.

The group gathered to discuss a new regional subarea traffic plan.

“Maple Valley took it upon itself to ask the affected parties to meet,” Johnston said.

The city manager noted the group met to look at the Black Diamond developments and the region as a whole.

Johnston noted this is a first step in developing an effective transportation model for the entire region.

He said Maple Valley Mayor Noel Gerken will contact the mayors of the cities, the county executive and secretary of transportation.

Johnston said the idea is for the coalition to approach the Black Diamond City Council requesting the members, “look favorably at the hearing examiners recommendations.”

The Black Diamond City Council will be making a decision whether to approve the MPD permit applications.