Planning on Fourth Plain facing a fork in the road

Doing so will require amendments to the county’s arterial atlas and comprehensive plan, documents that guide growth and roadway development. Removing the road from the arterial atlas could have an impact on traffic flows elsewhere.

“In general, removing an arterial is never something to be done lightly,” said Blom of the proposed amendment.

According to Community Planning Director Oliver Orjiako, county staff began reviewing the proposal after the county council decided to include it with other potential amendments to the comprehensive plan. The council will review them this fall and either approve or reject them.

Christie BrownSilva, president of the nearby Sifton Neighborhood Association, said that traffic on Fourth Plain is definitely a problem, and congestion on the route affects other thoroughfares. She said that she expects more development along Fourth Plain and more traffic.

“I still think this extension needs to come through,” she said.

Plans for the road have been a long time coming. According to county documents, the Washington State Department of Transportation and the county began looking at safety issues at the intersection of state Highway 500 and Northeast 124th Avenue in 2000. At the time, there had been 75 accidents at the location in six years, resulting in 42 injuries.

One of the proposed solutions to the safety situation at the intersection included amending the Clark County arterial atlas to add an extension connecting Northeast 65th Street to Kerr Road and WSDOT set aside $400,000 for the county to purchase the right of way for the project. County commissioners rejected the idea in 2005.

But in 2011, commissioners signed off on building a connecting road from Northeast 65th Street to Kerr Road to provide a travel route alternative and complementary circulation pattern.

In 2015 and 2016, Sadri acquired four parcels of land in the vacant lots the extension is planned to run through. Last year, his attorney, Steve Morasch, who also serves as chair of the county’s Planning Commission and declined to comment for this story, requested that the county remove part of the proposed road from the arterial atlas.

In November, the county council conducted a work session on the topic but backed off from approving it for review until January. Part of the concern was that the county would have to pay back the $400,000 that WSDOT paid to acquire the right of way for the road. But Chris Horne, chief civil deputy prosecuting attorney, later found that the agreement with WSDOT only covered the extension from Northeast 121st Avenue to Northeast 124th Avenue.

“At this point, we’re kind of waiting to get additional feedback,” said Councilor Julie Olson, who added that one essential question is if the road is even necessary.

Matt Hermen, a county planner, said that later this spring the Planning Commission will consider the idea and it will be referred the council in the fall.

“The big part of this is there be public involvement so people can voice concerns or support,” said Hermen.

There are two other proposed changes to the county’s arterial atlas. One would develop a better route for industrial traffic near Northeast 72nd Avenue and Northeast 119th Street. Another is intended to create a traffic collector on Northeast 107th Street between state Highway 503 and Northeast 137th Avenue.

Blom, whose district encompasses the proposed road, noted that although he received a campaign contribution from the property owner, he’ll still be proceeding cautiously. He said that it’s possible the project might not work out or plans for development might change.

“How do we tie it to the development as a whole in a way that makes sense,” he said. For right now, he stressed, “The only decision that’s been made is we are going to make a decision.”