Last night, the Sammamish city council meeting was packed with over 150 community members who care about how the East Lake Sammamish Trail will be constructed. King County Parks and Recreation Director Kevin Brown provided city council with a presentation on the progress the county and city are making toward completing 95 percent trail designs of the South Sammamish Segment A. Brown discussed many of the opportunities and challenges the trail presents and he explained how the city and county are coming to agreements on the design of specific sections of trail. A lengthy public comment period ensued after the presentation. Community members were eager to voice their opinions on trail designs.
Those who testified in support of the trail spoke about the comfort and safety of riding a bike along off street trails, the importance of maintaining a trail that’s wide enough for people to safely travel in both directions and a desire to complete the trail as soon as possible.
As anticipated, many homeowners expressed concerns around trail development, but the handful of trail supporters who spoke up helped change the tone of the meeting, in comparison to previous council meetings, by reminding everyone of the many great benefits of regional trails.
Cascade provided the following testimony in support of the trail on Tuesday, March 3 at the Sammamish city council meeting:
Good evening Mayor Vance and Councilmembers. My name is McKayla Dunfey, and I am here on behalf of Cascade Bicycle Club and our nearly 16,000 members to express support for the East Lake Sammamish Trail and its timely completion. Thank you for all of your efforts in working with King County toward building out a safe trail that accommodates everyones needs.
As you may know, 60 percent of people in our region want to ride bicycles more often but don’t because they’re concerned about safety when riding on the street. Thriving regional trails, however, like the Burke-Gilman Trail and the future East Lake Sammamish Trail, can accommodate many of these people who might not otherwise choose to ride a bike. Trails fuel healthy, vibrant, active communities and they connect people to key destinations and recreational opportunities.
Once complete the East Lake Sammamish Trail will be one of these world class trails that connects to other fantastic regional trails, like the Burke-Gilman, Sammamish River Trail, the Marymoor Connector Trail and the Issaquah Preston Trail.
Our enthusiasm for this project can not be understated.
We highly encourage the city of Sammamish and King County to expedite the permitting and trail building process and build out a trail that’s safe for everyone, meets national trail width standards where possible and maintains a shoulder where possible to reduce the risks of collusion and injuries. We support a trail that’s wide enough for bicyclists and pedestrians to safely travel in both direction, and a trail that’s wide enough for homeowners to safely cross the trail.
We look forward to the day parents will be able to safely ride or walk along the trail with their children, the day new bike commuters will have the option of choosing a comfortable off-street route as they learn the joys and benefits of riding their bike to work in Issaquah, Redmond or elsewhere and the day bicyclists will be able to travel all the way from the start of the Burke Gilman in Seattle to the foothills of the Cascades on a fully-paved network of connected, convenient and safe regional trails.
The East Lake Sammamish Trail is the 11-mile missing link in this 44-mile network that will become an incredible asset to our region, and we look forward to it’s completion. We urge King County and the City of Sammamish to continue working together to make this trail a reality.
Thank you for your time and all of your continued efforts around the East Lake Sammamish Trail.
Didn't make it to the meeting? Sumit your public comment by emailing Sammamish city council.
Learn more and connect with other caring neighbors at Cascade's Connect Eastside team at our next meeting: Wednesday, March 18, 6-8 p.m. at Zeeks Pizza (124 Park Lane, Kirkland, WA 98003).
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