Editing Monroe, Washington (section)

===Suburban growth===

[[Washington State Route 522|State Route 522]], a new state highway connecting Monroe to [[Bothell, Washington|Bothell]], was opened to traffic on February 10, 1965.<ref>{{cite news |last=Sterling |first=E. M. |date=February 11, 1965 |title=Monroe Objects to Traffic From New Bothell Road |page=19 |work=The Seattle Times}}</ref> The easier car access made Monroe into a [[bedroom community]] for Everett, Seattle, and the [[Eastside (King County, Washington)|Eastside]] region, with new suburban [[subdivision (land)|subdivision]]s being built around the city and [[annexation|annexed]] by the end of the decade.<ref>{{cite news |last=Moody |first=Dick |date=June 5, 1966 |title=Monroe, a Residential City, Hopes to Remain That Way |page=34 |work=The Seattle Times}}</ref> A new state prison, the [[Twin Rivers Corrections Center]], was opened in 1984 and brought new jobs to the area despite opposition from residents.<ref>{{cite news |last=Bergsman |first=Jerry |date=March 21, 1984 |title=The prison comes to Monroe |page=G1 |work=The Seattle Times}}</ref>

The former Frye lettuce farm in western Monroe was sold in the late 1980s to an Eastside-based [[real estate developer]], which proposed the "Fryelands" residential and industrial neighborhood.<ref name="PSBJ-1997">{{cite news |last=Epes |first=James |date=February 23, 1997 |title=Monroe's doctrine embraces growth |url=https://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/stories/1997/02/24/focus2.html |work=[[Puget Sound Business Journal]] |access-date=March 6, 2019}}</ref> The Fryelands industrial park, once proposed for a [[Boeing 777]] parts facility,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Lane |first1=Polly |last2=Gwinn |first2=Mary Ann |date=December 4, 1990 |title=Monroe targeted for Boeing plant |page=C1 |work=The Seattle Times}}</ref> was developed adjacent to another industrial park that was opened a decade earlier.<ref name="PSBJ-1997"/> The residential component of the development sold out in 1993 and began construction that year alongside other subdivisions in western Monroe.<ref>{{cite news |last=Alexander |first=Karen |date=February 8, 1993 |title=Homes at Monroe site sell fast |page=C2 |work=The Seattle Times}}</ref><ref name="Times-Shudder">{{cite news |last=Clutter |first=Stephen |date=February 14, 1997 |title=Some folks shudder as Monroe booms |page=A1 |work=The Seattle Times}}</ref> As part of mitigation for the Fryelands project, an [[artificial lake]] named Lake Tye was created to provide [[wetlands]] and a park for residents.<ref>{{cite web |date=September 26, 2017 |title=Lake Tye Park Community Process Presentation |page=3 |url=https://www.monroewa.gov/DocumentCenter/View/4937/Preliminary-Concepts-Presentation-to-City-Council-Park-Board-September-26 |publisher=Monroe City Council |access-date=October 28, 2019}}</ref> Between 1990 and 2000, the population of the city doubled to over 13,000.<ref name="PI-Transition">{{cite news |last=Iwasaki |first=John |date=June 6, 1998 |title=This fair ground holds a city in transition |page=D1 |work=[[Seattle Post-Intelligencer]]}}</ref>

The increased residential development in Monroe caused worsened congestion on State Route&nbsp;522, which was named one of the most dangerous highways in the United States.<ref>{{cite news |last=Johnston |first=Steve |date=October 26, 1995 |title=Highway 522: It's nothing to brag about |page=B3 |url=https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/19951026/2148955/highway-522-its-nothing-to-brag-about |work=The Seattle Times |access-date=October 28, 2019}}</ref> The state government began a widening and safety improvement program in 1995 that has continued since then, gradually building four-lane sections for the highway and upgrading the remaining two-lane sections.<ref>{{cite news |last=Nohara |first=Yoshiaki |date=May 20, 2007 |title=Help for 'Highway of Death' |url=http://www.heraldnet.com/news/help-for-highway-of-death/ |work=The Everett Herald |access-date=October 28, 2019}}</ref> During the 1990s and 2000s, several large [[strip mall]]s and [[big-box store]]s were built along U.S. Route&nbsp;2 north of downtown. The North Kelsey development in the early 2010s brought a controversial [[Walmart]] to Monroe, which was challenged by neighborhood activists for violating the city's plans for a pedestrian-friendly retail neighborhood.<ref>{{cite news |date=February 9, 2012 |title=Monroe shifts gears, vision for development of the N. Kelsey property |url=https://www.heraldnet.com/news/monroe-shifts-gears-vision-for-development-of-the-n-kelsey-property/ |work=The Everett Herald |access-date=October 7, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Dominguez |first=Alejandro |date=January 4, 2012 |title=Judge clears away challenges to Walmart store in Monroe |url=https://www.heraldnet.com/news/judge-clears-away-challenges-to-walmart-store-in-monroe/ |work=The Everett Herald |access-date=October 7, 2019}}</ref> Since 2000, the Downtown Revitalization and Enhancement Association of Monroe (DREAM) has sponsored revitalization projects in downtown Monroe to preserve the city's main street.<ref>{{cite news |last=Rolph |first=Amy |date=January 7, 2010 |title=Development help for downtowns may end |url=http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20100107/NEWS01/701079951 |work=The Everett Herald |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100110075415/http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20100107/NEWS01/701079951 |archive-date=January 10, 2010 |access-date=October 18, 2019}}</ref> More recent development in Monroe has been concentrated in the northern hills, which were annexed into the city in the 2000s.<ref name="PI-Transition"/>