ARLINGTON — State transportation officials will be releasing a final report to the City Council Jan. 11 on their analysis of SR 531.

Washington State Department of Transportation began a corridor pre-design analysis in fall 2008 to study traffic congestion and safety problems on the state highway, also known as 172nd Street NE, between the 43rd Avenue NE and 67th Avenue NE intersections.

The analysis is meant to serve as a guide for local municipalities and state agencies to determine future funding projects, said Tom Stacey, WSDOT project manager.

“One thing that needs to be clear is that there is no funding available for these recommendations,” Stacey said. “Our recommendations are for if funding does become available, then (the city) can use this framework on how to improve the corridor on limited dollars.”

That list of recommendations, which Stacey said would primarily help alleviate peak traffic congestion on SR 531, will be presented to the Council during its work session.

The city of Arlington completed its own traffic analysis of the section of road in 2007, but contacted the state department shortly after for a more detailed study due to increasing development, Stacey said.

The $857,000 study was paid for with local funds.

Other discussion items on the workshop agenda include one minor modification to the Arlington municipal code and a no smoking policy for city events held in city parks.

The former deals with student representatives’ duties as Commissioners on the city’s Board of Parks, Arts and Recreation Commission.

The second comes from the Commission to establish a no smoking policy for city events held in city parks, according to a Commission memo.

No action will be taken on any items during the workshop.

The City Council session takes place at 7 p.m. at the Council Chambers, located at 110 East Third Street, Arlington.