A slight speed reduction is coming to State Route 202 between Snoqualmie and North Bend, pending approval by the North Bend City Council.

The push toward reducing the speed limit to 40 mph, from the previous 50 mph limit, comes months after the city of Snoqualmie requested that the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) conduct a traffic study on the state highway due to increased traffic and vehicle conflicts with elk, according to Snoqualmie City Ordinance 1291.

WSDOT recommended the reduction — from Snoqualmie Middle School to the South Fork Snoqualmie River Bridge — based on crash data from Feb. 8-14, 2024, but will only make the change once both cities approve it.

On July 8, the Snoqualmie City Council voted to reduce its portion of SR 202 from Snoqualmie Middle School to milepost 28.28.

“I can’t imagine that there would be a strong force not wanting to lower the speed limit because of safety issues,” Councilmember Catherine Cotton said during the meeting. “Since WSDOT basically agreed to this, let’s just give our stamp of approval and move forward.”

The North Bend City Council will vote to approve their portion of the speed reduction from milepost 28.28 to the South Fork Snoqualmie River Bridge during a July 16 meeting, according to the council packet.

“The reduction was brought forward to the city’s Transportation and Public Works Committee on June 25, 2024, and there was a unanimous recommendation to reduce the 50 mph speed limit,” the packet states.

While WSDOT has not yet set an exact timeline for implementing the new speed, work to install new signs will begin soon after North Bend approves the change, said RB McKeon, WSDOT’s northwest region communications manager.