That plan to “improve” the dangerous 5.5-mile stretch of West Lake Sammamish Parkway without adding dedicated bike lanes is scheduled for a vote by the Bellevue (WA) City Council on Monday night (see the City Council agenda item here).
The staff recommendations are opposed by:
the Cascade Bicycle Club,
the Friends of Lake Sammamish,
Bellevue's own Pedestrian and Bicycle Citizens Advisory Group (CAG),
and the City of Redmond.
The Cascade Bicycle Club is urging its members to attend the meeting at 6 p.m. Monday at the City Council chambers (directions).
What the staff recommends (see the Biking Bis web page that lays out the West Lake Sammamish Parkway controversy) is a multi-use trail on the southbound shoulder of the road for northbound and southbound cyclists as well as pedestrians. In places this multi-use trail will be separated from traffic by a low berm, and at other times it's adjacent to the road.
A critical analysis issued by Friends of Lake Sammamish concludes this recommendation is “fatally flawed” because it mixes cyclists and pedestrians and forces northbound cyclists to ride against traffic. (Look here for more about why wrong-way bicycling is so dangerous.) A four-foot shoulder is available on the northbound side of the parkway, although it's unclear whether this also will contain stormwater drainage and other obstacles.
The plan to improve West Lake Sammamish Parkway is a continuation of a joint project on the corridor between Bellevue, Redmond and King County.
Ironically, Redmond already has improved its section of the lakeside parkway with northbound and southbound bicycle lanes and a separate pedestrian walkway west of the southbound bicycle lane. A cyclist riding south on a dedicated bike lane will pedal into the Twilight Zone at the Bellevue border as he or she tangles with pedestrians and cyclists heading north.
The current conditions of the parkway are deplorable. It's busy, there's no shoulder on the northbound (lakeside) parkway so cyclists either have to ride in traffic or take their chances riding against traffic on the southbound shoulder. The parkway has been judged one of the most dangerous stretches of road in King County.
Members of the West Lake Sammamish Association, especially those with lakefront properties, have opposed plans to install a northbound bicycle lane, citing the danger of backing out of steep driveways into the path of bicyclists.
The city's Transportation Commission met March 24 and approved the staff recommendation. “Recognizing that the plan requires a balance of concern and needs, the Commission believes the recommendation provides the best solution for this very important corridor in the City's transportation system and we recommend Council adopt it.”
The City Council will vote Monday night on whether to approve the staff recommendation and direct staff to find options for funding.
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