Traffic Analysis

Public Works | Engineering Division

Traffic Analysis provides critical services regarding the safe movement of traffic within unincorporated Skagit County. Some of these services include: permitting of special events and film productions utilizing Skagit County roadways, traffic volume counts, speed studies, turn movement studies, sight distance studies, collision rates, roadway signing, deployment of a Radar/Speed trailer, and roadway speed limit changes. We provide these services for Public Works, other County agencies, State agencies, and other interested parties.

In addition, personnel investigate critical injury and fatality collisions on Skagit County roadways, manage and maintain the Skagit County Road Inventory, as well as the Skagit County Pavement Management program, which monitors the condition of pavements on County roadways.

Request Radar / Speed Trailer Deployment

Skagit County's RU2 Fast 950 Radar/Speed Trailer allows Skagit County to quickly and positively respond to citizen requests regarding speeding in our neighborhoods without placing an operational requirement on the requestor, as did our past Radar/Reader-Board Program.

The Trailer is especially useful in the following ways:

Provide drivers of the problem roadway real-time feedback of their actual speed with a large 18" LED display. This display will remind these drivers of the actual posted speed and if they are within this limit.
Provide the neighborhood residents with the actual speeds of traffic without having to guess. Very often actual speeds are exaggerated or highly estimated by requestors - this often happens because while standing near a large moving vehicle one is especially vulnerable and vehicles can seem to be traveling very fast.
Provide enhancement to the speeding enforcement currently provided by the Sheriff's Department by coordinating its use with follow-up patrol of the area.

To discourage citizens using the Trailer for testing "top speed" in their vehicles, the unit will flash Red and Blue lights instead of MPH if a vehicle travels more than 10 mph over the posted speed. Traffic Engineering will install the Trailer at safe locations in response to neighborhood and law enforcement requests. Placement of the Trailer may not be possible in all areas of the County. Acquisition of the Trailer was made possible in part by a grant from the Washington Traffic Safety Commission. If you would like to request deployment of the Radar Trailer, please fill out an online Service Request or call us at 360-416-1400.