I grew up in 1 of WA’s fastest-growing places. It was better back then | Opinion

I’m an Edgewood native, an ‘80s kid who played outside almost every day, rain or shine. There were virtually no sidewalks — we suffered many skinned knees from the jagged, chip-sealed streets. And there were hardly any streetlights, so we stayed within yelling distance.

Back then, Edgewood was a peaceful , rural area, quiet and away from the hustle and bustle typical of other cities.

I remember Edgewood’s 1996 cityhood triumph thanks to the button hanging on the corkboard next to the rotary phone in my parents’ garage. At the time, “yes” voteswere driven by fears that nearby cities would annex the area’s farmland and sleepy, rolling hills. Residents were told neighboring cities would gobble up open space and build more houses, warehouses and apartments. Officials promised that “yes” votes would keep Edgewood rural, get the city more resources and provide development oversight.

Edgewood doesn’t seem so rural anymore. Apartment buildings now border both sides of Meridian. And there are plans to build more .

New houses spring up, dotting the once-open fields.

It begs the question: What happened to maintaining the nearly 100 years of Edgewood’s rural charm?

What happened to development oversight?

The City of Edgewood’s website lists its goals and policies: to “Promote commercial and residential development that is carefully considered, aesthetically pleasing and functional.”

The website shows horses grazing in a grassy pasture and a largely undeveloped, traffic-free section of Meridian. The current views along Meridian look quite different from those pictures.

Anyone driving through Edgewood knows the pains of the traffic-clogged thoroughfare. Widening efforts did little to reduce the slowdown of this major roadway. With more apartments going up all the time, where will all those cars go?

I thought it was a joke when my parents told me they no longer leave the hill after 3 p.m. Having experienced the traffic myself, I now understand the logic.

I recognize progress can be a necessary part of a city’s development and appreciate efforts to provide infrastructure to support growing populations .

I’ve also visited cities that haven’t changed much, if at all, in decades.

These cities — typically smaller — offer a quaintness that’s nice to depend on, like the place I grew up.

Today, Edgewood seems to be a city of contradictions:

Citizens were scared into voting for cityhood three decades ago to preserve its ruralness.

Now, they contend with increased traffic and major developments.

Times change. Cities change. Maybe growth is what Edgewood needs.

Perhaps I’m just nostalgic for the past.

Maybe I’m just being sentimental about the childhood I spent unconcerned with density or development, focused on navigating the chip-sealed streets and avoiding skinned knees.

Siobhan Dye grew up in Edgewood and attended Edgemont Junior High back when it was falling apart. Today, she works in tech and still visits the area regularly.