By Chris Carrel, Thinking Locally

As part of the continuing series exploring (and debunking) myths about Federal Way, I’m turning my attention in the final two columns in the series to the issues of crime and traffic.

This week, I’ll tackle traffic.

This being Pugetopolis, there’s plenty of traffic congestion to go around. The region currently ranks among the nation’s worst for traffic congestion. So, it must be really bad in the F-Dub to merit special mention. I have had many conversations with Seattleites and others who make special point to point out our lousy traffic.

And it’s not just an issue for outsiders. Most Federal Way-ers complain endlessly about our traffic. As a matter of fact, it’s one of the few activities you can do while stuck in traffic.

Congestion on our streets is almost as reliable a frustration as the weather. Unlike the wind and the rain, however, it’s easy to pinpoint blame for our traffic woes: It’s City Hall’s fault for putting that development/stop light/turn lane/traffic circle/insert-your-choice there.

I see the point, up to a point. There are specific intersections I avoid at certain times of day, if I can. I even have intersections I avoid altogether. (Hello S. 348th and Enchanted Parkway. I’m talking to you.)

Federal Way has traffic, for sure. But you’d expect that for the eighth largest city in the state, especially one that started off with such inadequate road infrastructure. When I look around at other communities, though, I see congestion and roads that are much worse than ours.

As a soccer dad, I have the relative pleasure of doing a lot of driving in other suburbs. There’s a long list of cities that make our traffic look positively bucolic. Ever been to the South Hill of Puyallup on a Saturday afternoon? How about trying to get to a soccer game at Bethel High School in Graham in the late afternoon? Poulsbo. Tukwila. Kent. Covington. I can reel off a long list of cities whose commute-time traffic leaves me pining for a good old drive down 320th at rush hour.

Aside from my empirical observations, there aren’t any good statistical measures to compare how one Puget Sound city’s traffic compares to another.

Traffic engineers rank intersections based on Level of Service, a measure that includes delay time and traffic volumes against capacity. However, the numerical definition of a Level of Service gets tweaked from town to town, so comparisons are difficult to make. It looks like you’re just left with my two cents on this one. There are worse places come drive time.

The city does have some data on how things have changed over time at our local intersections. According to Rick Perez, Federal Way city traffic engineer, our city had nine intersections whose Level of Service were “over capacity” in 1995. Today, there are just two.

Remember when S. 320th and Pacific Highway was the “worst intersection in the state?”

Now, granted, while waiting for a red light, you and I may have a different definition of “over capacity” than Mr. Perez, but he has additional stats that support the claim of improving traffic.

He looked at 17 city road projects built between 1997 and 2004 to see how they affected traffic and safety. Despite city traffic volumes increasing roughly 20 percent a year, the projects showed a cumulative 30 percent decrease in traffic accidents, resulting in an estimated annual society cost savings (e.g. paying the doctor, the ambulance and the auto repair shop) of $1.6 million.

Frustrations still abound, though, it’s true.

There are the crazy street layouts of Twin Lakes, Marine Hills and other older neighborhoods. People complain about the cul-de-sacs and wacky curvilinear street shapes that can leave even the most experienced native dazed and confused (after 43 years here, there are still a few neighborhoods that are like the Bermuda Triangle).

Traffic engineers and community planners hate these quirky streets and would love to replace them with grid streets, if possible. Not me. They give Federal Way character. And I like the challenge they represent. Nothing good is easy. Sometimes that includes finding some Federal Way-ers’ houses.

Cul-de-sacs are great public safety tools, too. Twice in the past two decades, an unlucky criminal

has decided to try to flee the police down my cul-de-sac street. Think of how many televised police chases we could avoid in the region if we had more dead-end streets?

So, go ahead and complain about the traffic all you want. It’s no fun when you’re in it. But traffic doesn’t set Federal Way apart from the region, and for my money there are many worse places to live than Federal Way when it comes to getting around.

Rank this myth as slightly true — because all Puget Sound suburbs have traffic problems — but mostly not. Stay away from Marine Hills, though, if you’re new to town.

Chris Carrel is a lifelong Federal Way resident and executive director of the Friends of the Hylebos. Contact: chinook@hylebos.org or (253) 874-2005.