Snohomish's next downtown street change is small. Two short blocks of Avenue B and Avenue C, between First and Second streets, would become one-way. Traffic would move clockwise, right turns only, and the change could free up about 40 parking spaces. The Snohomish County Tribune reported on October 14 that the city's consultant is "currently advancing the design."
The bigger plan is the one most people picture: a curbless First Street with brick, festoon lighting and historic-style light poles. That plan was adopted this spring. It also depends on grants the city hasn't won yet, and the project manager's own estimate puts groundbreaking five to ten years away. So the downtown that's actually changing in the next stretch of time is mostly the one already there, with two blocks reworked.
What the October 6 study recommends
The idea started with parking. The First Street Master Plan Committee was working on downtown parking strategies when it flagged a "one-way couplet" on Avenues B and C as a way to improve circulation and add about 40 on-street spaces. That's from the staff report in the October 6, 2026 City Council packet, written by project manager Siobhan Waltman.
The city then reached out to business owners, property owners and residents in the study area. The staff report says the feedback showed "general support for further evaluation of the concept." Council then backed a detailed traffic circulation study to check whether the idea would work and what it would affect.
The study tested both directions. It found that clockwise and counterclockwise loops would each simplify vehicle movements, cut down on conflicts and reduce delays at nearby downtown intersections. Neither would add much to queues or congestion. The city picked clockwise because it "provides additional right-turn movements, which may improve parking circulation and vehicle navigation within the downtown core."
The city's consultant, Transpo Group, is now designing the roadway changes, pavement markings, signage and traffic control. Design milestones, cost estimates and implementation recommendations will go to Council later.
Why the traffic numbers point to a parking fix
The study's findings on traffic itself explain why the city is treating this as a parking project. Downtown traffic volumes have "generally decreased" since the city's previous study in 2017. Collision rates at every intersection were below industry thresholds, and the study area had no reported serious-injury or fatal crashes during the review period. Speeds are generally in line with posted limits. Every study intersection meets the city's adopted level-of-service standard now and is projected to keep meeting it through 2044.
The busiest intersection in the crash data is Avenue D and Second Street, with 27 collisions from 2021 through 2025, or 5.40 a year on average. Even so, its rate stayed under the report's threshold of 1.0 per million entering vehicles. The packet doesn't recommend a separate redesign there.
With volumes down and every intersection within standard, the couplet's job is circulation and curb space. It reorganizes two blocks so cars turn more simply and more of the curb can be used for parking. That's why it can move ahead now, while the larger plan waits for money.
The First Street plan, and how long it will take
On April 21, 2026, the City Council unanimously approved Resolution 1498, adopting the First Street Master Plan by a 7–0 vote, according to the official meeting minutes.
The preferred concept, called "Crafted Streetscape," calls for a curbless downtown street for accessibility and flexibility during events. It includes scored concrete, brick in the parking, furnishing and frontage zones, historic-style light poles, festoon lighting, street trees and curb extensions. Diagonal parking stays. That's according to the city's presentation to the First Street Advisory Committee.
The presentation breaks the corridor into three sections:
| Section | Stretch | What the plan shows | Parking spaces |
|---|---|---|---|
| Western | Avenue J to Avenue D | 12-foot walk/bike trail, traffic circle at the Public Works driveway, mid-block crossings | 142 |
| Central | Avenue D to Union | Curbless street, new concrete sidewalks, tree grates, crosswalks, proposed study of loading and timed pickup spaces | 187 |
| Eastern | Union to Lincoln | New sidewalks, landscape buffer, crosswalks, Centennial Trail crossing | 86 |
That's 415 diagonal spaces across the corridor, which the Tribune's February 25 coverage also reported. The same coverage describes the adopted plan as a preliminary vision, not a design ready for construction.
City officials have been direct about what comes next. "The whole thing is dependent on grants," city administrator Ken Klein told the Council, as reported in the Tribune's April 29 article on the approval. In the same article, Waltman said the city plans to apply to the state Transportation Improvement Board and to the federal Safe Streets and Roads for All program. "We hope to break ground in five years, it could be 10 years," she said.
The Tribune also reported that more formal design work is planned to start in late 2028, and that the utilities under First Street will need to be replaced too.
The 2026 timeline
- February 25: The Tribune reports the First Street design taking shape, with diagonal parking kept.
- April 21: Council adopts the First Street Master Plan, 7–0.
- April 29: City staff say the plan depends on grants, formal design starts in late 2028, and groundbreaking is five to ten years out.
- October 6: The circulation study goes to Council, recommending the clockwise one-way loop on Avenues B and C.
- October 14: The Tribune reports that the city doesn't yet know when the one-way change will happen.
The two plans fit together in a practical way. The couplet came out of the master plan committee's parking work, and it can be built with paint, signs and traffic control while the curbless street waits for grants.
On Saturday, October 31, First Street runs as an event street
The master plan wants a street that can switch between parking and gathering space. On Halloween afternoon, downtown will do a version of that the old-fashioned way. First Street Trick or Treat runs Saturday, October 31, from 3 to 5 p.m. The City of Snohomish is coordinating with the Snohomish Police Department, Fire District 4 and the Snohomish Lions Club, according to the Historic Downtown Snohomish event page.
Here's what to expect on foot:
- Families are encouraged to walk westbound on the north side of First Street and eastbound on the south side, following the direction of traffic.
- Police will be at key intersections, and some crosswalks will be temporarily closed to improve flow and visibility.
- Lions Club volunteers will be stationed around downtown to help with foot traffic.
- At St. John's Episcopal, 913 2nd Street, music director Greg Fulton will play spooky organ music in the sanctuary from 3 to 5 p.m. The church will also hand out candy, and visitors are welcome to come in and listen.
That's the current street being managed for a crowd with officers, volunteers and closed crosswalks, on a street with curbs and diagonal parking. The curbless design is meant to make that kind of switch part of the street itself, and the clock on it runs to the late 2020s or the 2030s.
What hasn't been decided yet
The open items are easy to list:
- When Avenues B and C change. The Tribune reported that the timing isn't known, and the October 6 packet gives no date.
- What either project costs. Cost estimates for the couplet will come to Council later, and no construction estimate for the First Street plan has been published.
- Whether the grants come through. The master plan's construction depends on them.
The next public step is Transpo Group's design for the couplet going back to Council. The study's full findings are in the October 6 Council packet, which the Tribune linked at tinyurl.com/snohomishoneways. Anyone who parks on Avenue B or C, or makes deliveries there, can find the details in that packet.
If you own a home in or near the Historic District, you're probably wondering what a rebuilt First Street, or even 40 more parking spaces two blocks away, could mean for how you'd present your property someday. I'm happy to talk through how downtown access and streetscape plans fit into a listing story, over coffee on First Street. Kathie Salvadalena offers a free seller consultation and home valuation whenever you're ready.
