As if holiday mall traffic isn’t bad enough, now Costco is in the mix
Dec 21, 2015, 11:41 PM | Updated: May 7, 2016, 11:44 pm
One of the region’s most popular malls has a new neighbor this year, and it is making for some frustrated shoppers.
Lynnwood’s Alderwood Mall is always packed during the final days before Christmas, but it now has a Costco right across the street.
Costco opened about two months ago, and people worried it was going to grind these streets down into constant gridlock, even the neighborhood streets near the mall.
Tell us what slows down your holiday shopping
Lynnwood traffic engineer Paul Coffelt says the new street built behind Costco and the new signals have kept that fear from becoming a reality.
“We’ve been experiencing some really good operations, better than what we predicted, for the distribution of the traffic demand through that extra capacity,” he said. “It’s looking good.”
But in the last few weeks, the traffic has become worse as holiday shoppers have descended on the mall. Coffelt knows this week is when his management plan is going to be put to the test.
“The expectation should be that this is Lynnwood,” he explained. “During the holiday shopping season we have a lot of traffic on our roads.”
Coffelt has the ability to tweak signals and move traffic if it becomes unbearable. He will be at the switches all week. Lynnwood police will also be watching and will deploy officers if need be.
“They’ll be watching that too, from the roadway itself,” he said. “They’re going to be on the street and radioing into each other, talking and then also receiving information from us if we see it first.”
Coffelt has advice for those brave enough to hit the Alderwood Mall-Costco corridor. He wants drivers to find a place they can park and walk to several stores, instead of driving around.
So, perhaps it would be better to park at Costco and walk across the street to shop at the mall before loading up on licorice and other last-minute items.
And remember, the new street that accesses Costco also goes all the way around the store. You no longer have to tackle the light at Alderwood Mall Parkway and 184th, the intersection by Target. You can avoid it completely by going behind the Costco.
