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Darrington Mobility Study

Darrington Report Thumb.png

In April-June 2021, Snotrac partnered with the North Counties Community Collaborative and contracted with the Toole Design Group to study how to improve transportation to/from Darrington.

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Today, transportation to Darrington are extremely limited.  With the new Darrington Wood Innovation Center opening in 2024, bringing 150 new direct jobs and many students and indirect jobs to the town of 1,500 people, it's important to begin planning for new transportation options.

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Based on listening to the community, Toole Design published a report that the current mobility gaps and analyze potential solutions.

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Read the final report and recommendations.

Recommendations​ from Study

  1. Provide Transit in Darrington

  2. Add More Service to Arlington

  3. Adjust Schedule of CT Route 230

  4. Education and Awareness Campaign

  5. Build Support for Paratransit

Mobility Challenges in the North Stillaguamish Valley,
as identified in June 2021

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  • One road connects Darrington to Arlington, 28 miles away. 

  • The Sauk-Suiattle Tribe operates its D-C Connect transit service all day between Darrington and Concrete, but not to Arlington.  The service is open to the general public.

  • Community Transit provides one round-trip bus in the morning, and one in the evening, from Arlington to Darrington.

  • Community Transit's DART door-to-door bus service for people with disabilities does not serve Darrington.

  • Homage Senior Services does not currently have the resources to operate its Transportation Assistance Program (TAP), which is a door-to-door bus service for people with disabilities and age 60+ who live outside the DART service area, in the Darrington area.

  • No official community vanpool or carpool program exists in Darrington.

  • The Whitehorse Trail connects most of the way from Darrington to Arlington, but the final connections on either end are currently missing.

  • In King County, the public transit system provides bus routes directly to hiking trailheads on the summer weekends. No similar service exists in Snohomish County.

 

The Darrington Mobility Study explored alternatives for how to improve mobility.  Options included increasing the number of trips that Community Transit operates, establishing a vanpool program, expanding the Sauk-Suiattle Tribe's capacity to provide service to Arlington, and increasing Homage Senior Services capacity to operate TAP in Darrington.

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Outcomes from the Study

In March 2022, Snotrac was able to help coordinate the following mobility improvements for Darrington:

  • New TAP service provided by Homage to the valley.

  • New PayYourPal service provided by Homage.

  • Shifted the timing of Community Transit's Route 230 bus.

  • New marketing materials for increasing public awareness of existing transportation services.

  • Ongoing conversations about bringing a flex-route transit services to the valley.

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Learn more

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Community Leader Kickoff

 

On April 13, 2021, Snotrac and North Counties Community Collaborative held a meeting of community leaders to kickoff the study, helping us identify transportation gaps and opportunities. 

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