City talks sidewalk
September 30, 2008
By J.B. Wogan
Details under review on 20th Street
Bill Selby and Chris Badcon (on left) examine an aerial map of Southeast 20th Street. Citizens had opportunities before and after a city presentation Sept. 24 to look at the map and post sticky notes with questions and comments about the project. Photo by J.B. Wogan
“If the money’s on the table right now, I say we take it,” said Mike Bell, one of 66 residents at a city meeting at Discovery Elementary School Sept. 24.
The meeting regarded the city’s $3 million “non-motorized” project on Southeast 20th Street. City staff and residents gathered from 7-9 p.m. to discuss possible options for city renovations that could make the street more pedestrian and bike friendly.
Bell, who lives on Southeast 20th Street, was responding to a cacophony of concerns voiced by other citizens that the city’s project should first address the possible installation of sewer lines as well as traffic safety concerns such as poor sight lines and too much speeding.
His support for the project dates back to 2006, when he and a neighbor gathered roughly 60 resident signatures in favor of installing a sidewalk on Southeast 20th Street and presented them to the City Council.
Bell said he knew people were interested in street improvements to make the road safer for children.
“I kind of felt it was the community thing to do,” he said.
Mary Jo Kahler, another resident of Southeast 20th Street, asked if there wasn’t a way to combine different types of city traffic projects in order to address various concerns at one time.
Project Manager Tawni Hoang said there were limitations due to funding.
The city could only use the $3 million allotted for the project for “non-motorized” traffic projects, meaning improvements that would benefit pedestrians and bicyclists. There was some room for interpretation as far as traffic calming measures that could also benefit those two groups, she said.
“It will be a challenge for sure, to meet our budget and satisfy all the interested parties. It frankly won’t happen, but we’ll do our best,” Hoang said.
The major purpose of the Sept. 24 meeting was to suggest possible design options to residents and gather their input.
“Nothing at this point is cast in concrete,” said John Cunningham, public works director for the city.
Indeed, Hoang presented 21 options in a questionnaire with a series of projected images to gather input from residents.
Hoang said that the general concept for the project, as it stood in its preliminary design stage, was a sidewalk on one side of Southeast 20th Street that would extend from 228th Avenue Southeast to 212th Avenue Southeast.
Two bike lanes, one on each side of the road, would also run alongside the road.
While some citizens marked one of four responses — ranging from “definitely support” to “not likely support” — on paper, about 30 used remotes that sent in ratings to Hoang’s computer system instantaneously.
Hoang still had to collect the paper questionnaires to cull through the complete data, but she said she was able to gather general impressions from the remote responses.
One of the favored options was a concrete cement sidewalk. That option received 33 percent of the 43 responses for what type of material residents would like on a path or sidewalk.
Other similar options included an asphalt or a gravel path or a porous concrete sidewalk, all designed for pedestrians only, with bike lanes in addition to each option. The second most popular material for a path or sidewalk was porous concrete, which received 26 percent of the 43 votes.
Hoang also said that planter strips were among the least popular options. Planter strips would be island-like cement strips with shrubs or grass or native plants. Residents asked how such strips would be maintained, if the burden for caring for vegetation and removing litter would fall on citizens’ shoulders or the city’s. Their other concern was the impact of adding width to the roadway.
Planter strips, like medians, might result in residents having to cede parts of their property for a wider right of way.
Hoang also said residents seemed to have mixed feelings about a mixed-use path. Both bicyclists and pedestrians could use the path, similar to the extra-wide sidewalk on 228th Avenue Southeast.
Another possible factor, the installation of a sewer line is not likely. Jay Regenstreif, of the Sammamish Plateau Water and Sewer District, said, based on 150 questionnaires mailed out to area residents, there was insufficient interest in installing one.
City Engineer Laura Philpot said the exact measurements for each of the options were unknown, as the width can vary from project to project.
Still, rough estimates indicate that the narrowest improvement project would involve a pedestrian path or sidewalk with a 35-foot right of way, while the widest would involve a collector median, planter strip and sidewalk with a 67-foot right of way.
Hoang said the city had ruled out the latter option because it would involve land acquisition from homeowners.
At the next public meeting, scheduled for November at Discovery Elementary School, the city will share several design alternatives with the public, and request further input.
Reporter J.B. Wogan can be reached at 392-6434, ext. 247, or jbwogan@isspress.com.
Comments
Got something to say?
Before you comment, please note:
- These comments are moderated.
- Comments should be relevant to the topic at hand and contribute to its discussion.
- Personal attacks and/or excessive profanity will not be tolerated and such comments will not be approved.
- This is not your personal chat room or forum, so please stay on topic.
