Councilmembers present: Donald MacGilvra, Alan Kiest, Peggy Gerdes, Carolyn Armanini, Mary Jane Goss, Nate Herzog

Councilmember excused: Dwight Thompson

Staff present: David R. Hutchinson, Mayor; Michael Ruark, City Attorney; John Rogers, Police Chief; Susan Stine, City Clerk; Evelyn Jahed, Deputy City Clerk

Others present: 23 visitors

Mayor Hutchinson opened the study session meeting at 7:30 p.m.

Cmbr. Armanini requested that the topic of regional wastewater be added under new business/discussion.

Cmbr. Kiest requested that adult entertainment be added under new business/discussion.

Cmbr. Gerdes requested that light rail be added under new business/discussion.

NEW BUSINESS/DISCUSSION
• Burke Gilman Trail/Presentation by Phil Miller and Public Comments

Phil Miller, Senior Associate with ALTA Transportation Consulting, Redmond, said he was previously employed by King County Parks and discussed his work on the King County ordinance governing the use of the Burke Gilman trail.

Gerdes indicated that she would like to see a videotape of presentations like the one being presented tonight for staff and council review and asked the administration to consider this concept for future presentations.

Miller said the Burke Gilman trail was originally designed as a recreational facility; however, the trail has evolved to serve as an integral part of our regional transportation network. He discussed the issue of safety and trail use and noted that there is the perception that speed is the problem. He said there may be danger to trail users whether the speed is 15 mph or 8 mph. He discussed changes in how trails are designed since the Burke Gilman trail opened. He also noted the need to communicate the rules of conduct for all trail users.

He discussed his involvement with the development of the King County ordinance regarding trail use and noted the very familiar language in Lake Forest Park Ordinance 792. He said that asking users to adhere to a speed limit without a speedometer is very hard to enforce. He said that speed in itself is not inherently dangerous and discussed the two-part test of speed combined with negligent trail use. He said for a violation to occur under the current county ordinance, there must be an actual threat of danger to a trail user.

Miller noted that a recent study found the average speed of bicyclists is 17 mph. Design problems encountered on the trail by cyclists are stop signs and intersections and the use of bollards to prevent motorized vehicle use. He said that traffic control signs on the trail should be designed like road signs, and the facility design should address how conflict points could be limited or controlled.

Miller emphasized the need for regulations that would meet the city's needs. He explained that setting one criterion such as the speed limit to control use of a multi-use facility is not realistic. It may be time to consider redesigning the trail to meet the current needs of the city.

In response to questions from Kiest, Miller said the county has been fairly judicious in the use of its ordinance and the emphasis has been on controlling negligent use of the trail. Miller said the court system recognized the dual test used to cite violators.

In response to questions from MacGilvra, Miller said the county ordinance states 15 mph and negligent use of the trail, and this has been in force for seven years. Miller discussed how other cities control use of the trail. He said motorized vehicles are not allowed on the trail.

In response to a question from MacGilvra, Miller discussed the possibility of improvements to the trail and said acquisition of additional land is not necessary. Miller said federal TEA-21 (Transportation Efficiency Act) funds could be applied for to make improvements to the trail. He said the county has started work on trails on the eastside.

Gerdes said Miller's presentation has been very helpful to the council. She noted the intersection at Bothell Way and Ballinger Way and pedestrian crossing at Skippers are problem areas that should be reviewed by the Department of Transportation. Miller responded that a design study of the trail is needed.

Cmbr. Goss said she voted in favor of this ordinance and said there is a need now to address problems on the trail. She said that the 15mph speed limit will serve as a tool to educate and inform the public that there is a safety issue that needs to be addressed.

Miller said that education plays a huge part in addressing some of these concerns, and materials are available on the subject. He said that placing signs along the trail to inform users of existing rules would be useful. He suggested that the council consider adopting the county ordinance.

Rebecca Slivka, 2569 7th Ave W, Seattle, said she was very impressed with Mr. Miller's presentation. She said that the Burke Gilman trail is a major arterial with many uses. She suggested that the city review traffic control signage used by the city of Seattle along the trail. She said she is a very responsible cyclist and does not see the problem as speed as much as the incompatible uses of the trail. She also noted that the trail between NE 145th and NE 170th is very poorly designed.

Marc Montes, 17443 Beach Drive NE, said he believes that many users consider the trail a racetrack and thoroughfare. He described his experience as a walker and said he believes there is a need for a speed limit and for enforcement.

In response to a question from Gerdes, Montes said there were other users on the trail when this incident happened and added that he uses the trail as a cyclist and as a pedestrian.

Wick Haxton, 4910 NE 180th St., said he uses the trail to and from work, and also uses his bike for health reasons. He said that a person does not get any aerobic exercise bicycling at 15 mph when they are used to 18 mph. He noted that during the 15 years bicycling on the trail, he has seen only one accident.

Bill Moritz, 16901 105th Ave NE, Bothell, said he is a professor at the University of Washington with a human-powered transportation. He discussed a survey done on the Burke Gilman trail and noted that the majority of users were bicyclists. He said he is very concerned about safety and stated that the majority of the accidents occurring on the trail are from NE 155th to NE 165th, in the Lake Forest Park vicinity. He noted that the City of Seattle did not have a speed limit for bicyclists. He said that predictability and consistency is the key to safety. He noted that bollards are collision hazards and urged the city to get rid of them.

Jens Quistgaard, 4716 NE 187th Pl., said he has lived in Lake Forest Park for eight years and encouraged the city to look at the county ordinance. He said he has never been involved in an accident, but he believes that police officers should monitor the trail for bad behavior. He said he uses the trail for exercise and felt it would be overly restrictive to set the speed limit at 15 mph. He encouraged the city to address negligent behavior and to use King County's ordinance as a model.

Tim McAllister, 6055 NE 200th St., said he commutes to the University of Washington by bike and has never witnessed an accident. He inquired on how are we going to clock the speed and emphasized that speed alone is not the problem, but negligent behavior. He inquired if citations under the current ordinance would affect driver's licenses, and City Attorney Ruark said citations would not affect driving records.

Laura Haxton, 4910 NE 180th St., said slow, inexperienced cyclists are more likely to cause accidents.

Richard Dandridge, 2337 207 SE, Bothell, said the speed limit is troubling to him, and he described two incidents on the trail. He said that bollards are dangerous and should be removed.

Michelle Rodino, 5711 59th Ave NE, said that speed on the Burke Gilman Trail is not the problem. She said she agrees with the comments of other speakers and stated that 15 mph is arbitrary.

Tom Ormond, 4232 NE 203rd Pl., encouraged the council to act on some of the recommendations made by Miller. Ormond said that speed should not be the only concern, and he supported educating users to proper use of the trail.

Jim Lemoine, 18623 35th Ave SE, Bothell, said a trail is a field of dreams. He said he uses the trail as a cyclist and a pedestrian and has witnessed two accidents. He said he has never seen a mad pack of bicyclists on the trail.

Ansel Wald, 12316 28th Ave NE, Seattle, said he commutes from Lake City to Totem Lake, and agreed with most of what has been said tonight. He said he slows down when he sees hazardous situations and that he rides on the trail both for training and exercise.

Gerdes commented that if funding is approved for improvements to SR 522, there are plans to include a bikeway and a walkway along the 522 corridor.

In response to a question from MacGilvra, Mr. Miller discussed the rationale behind the 15-mph speed limit in the county ordinance. He said that the number 15 got included in the ordinance because it didn't correspond to a normal speed limit on a regular roadway. He said that after reviewing Ordinance 792 tonight, he noted that what is specifically missing in Ordinance 792 is that speed and endangering others is what constitutes negligent trail use. Miller said that this ordinance, as written, would still allow for enforcement to occur based solely on speed rather than having speed and negligent behavior together.

In response to a question from Cmbr. Herzog, Miller discussed the city's ability to impact the signage on county property. He said there needed to be an impact on the behavior of users on the trail. He mentioned the three E's--engineering, enforcement and education are the three components needed, when used together, to make any trail system work.

In response to a question from Armanini, Miller said that it is possible to cite someone for negligent trail use without exceeding the 15mph speed limit under the King County ordinance. Miller stressed that the real key is how a person's behavior affects others. In response to Armanini, Miller said a pedestrian could also be cited for negligent use of the trail.

Police Chief John Rogers said he has used the trail as a cyclist and for running and walking. He agrees that the bollards are a poor design element and detrimental on the trail. Whenever there is a mix of transportation modes, especially in a small area, there will be problems. He suggested using some of Mr. Miller's recommendation to alleviate some of these problems. He said other law enforcement agencies have indicated that they do not enforce laws on the trail unless there is a complaint.

Metropolitan King County Councilmember Maggi Fimia arrived at the meeting at 9:30 p.m.

A ten-minute recess was called for at 9:36 p.m.

The meeting was resumed at 9:49 p.m.

Armanini moved to direct the City Attorney to prepare an ordinance for council consideration at the August 26, 1999 meeting to repeal Ordinance 792.

Herzog seconded .

Armanini said that councilmembers had wanted to afford the same protection that the county had provided in its ordinance. She said that after listening to Mr. Miller's presentation and public comments, she believes that the ordinance as adopted does not mirror the county's ordinance.

In response to a question from Armanini regarding the effective date of Ordinance 792, Ruark said council could direct the chief of police to link the 15 mph speed limit with negligent use of the trail.

Gerdes commented that that she would like to see our ordinance consistent with the city of Redmond's trail ordinance and to see if their ordinance may have something that our city may use.

Armanini said that the presentation that the council heard this evening should have been included with the process prior to the adoption of the ordinance.

Gerdes said she agreed with Ms Armanini's comments.

Goss said she has a lot of empathy with all the comments given tonight. She feels that this ordinance is a way to get some kind of control on that part of the city. She added that people who live in the city must deal with the problem, and she would like to see that the citizens of Lake Forest Park live in a safe environment.

The motion carried 5-1 (Aye-MacGilvra, Gerdes, Armanini, Kiest, Herzog; Nay-Goss),

• Discussion of Survey of Public Attitudes

Councilmembers were in agreement when Gerdes suggested postponing discussion of the survey of public attitudes to the August 26, 1999 council meeting in order to give council more time to review the report.

• Regional Wastewater Services Plan

Armanini said her reason for adding this item on the agenda was the result of the presentation heard at the August 12 council meeting. She said the King County Executive Aide, Jean Carpenter, shared a copy of the draft memorandum of agreement between the King County Executive and Lake Forest Park with Cmbr. MacGilvra. Armanini said she received a copy of that agreement from the city administrator in response to her request. She asked that copies also be distributed to the rest of the council for their information prior to deliberations on this issue.

Hutchinson said that this item would be on the August 26, 1999 council agenda for further review and consideration.

In response to a question from Gerdes, Hutchinson said that Jacobson's recent memorandum was intended to provide information for the council.

Armanini noted that a recent newspaper article indicated that a decision by the council would be made no sooner than August 30 and said she was not aware that the council had made that decision.

Goss questioned how the King County Executive plans to fund the solutions to Lake Forest Park sewer problems, and she said the city should pursue getting the problems fixed with King County and also with the city of Seattle.

In response to Goss, Armanini said the draft agreement indicates that they "will fund and undertake or cause to be undertaken by the city of SeattleÉ."

Metropolitan King County Councilmember Maggi Fimia thanked the council for the opportunity to speak about wastewater treatment options. Fimia said the King County Council has no knowledge of the draft memorandum of agreement from the King County Executive with Lake Forest Park.

Fimia said that members of the County Council would love to work with the county executive to resolve wastewater problems with the city of Seattle. She discussed the findings and conclusions as presented by engineering consultant Dick Warren regarding the sewage overflows. She noted that the problems cannot be fixed without the necessary analysis.

Hutchinson said he is interested in fixing the problem for Sheridan Beach residents.

Kiest noted the September 9 meeting of the Regional Water Quality Committee. He said that King County and Lake Forest Park would benefit from the committee's recommendation on this decision.

In response to a question from MacGilvra, Fimia noted that the information used as a foundation for the executive's position should be revealed and reviewed in an open meeting. Fimia said that the King County Council will meet on August 30 at 9:30 a.m.

• Adult Entertainment

Kiest referred to the prosecuting attorney's report dated August 18, 1999, pages 3-4, discussing the trial of nine managers employed at Déjà Vu. He said a strategy to appeal the judge's decision is needed. If necessary, revisions to the city's municipal code should be proposed. He requested that this issue be reviewed by legal staff, and he said he would like to be advised on the status of this issue.

• Light Rail Extension Proposal

Gerdes discussed the proposal in support of extending light rail to NE 145th discussed by Metropolitan King County Executive Ron Sims and Seattle Mayor Paul Schell and outlined in the Wall Street Journal, The Seattle Times, and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

Kiest noted that he has heard that the entire transit plan may fail. He expressed some concerns regarding giving support to this proposal at this early stage.

Gerdes noted federal funding options that should be considered. Gerdes asked if the council would support the concept of this proposal and if council would approve sending a letter to the Sound Transit Board to that effect. There was agreement on the council that Cmbr. Gerdes should prepare a letter for the mayor's signature in support of the concept of the proposal.

ADJOURNMENT

The meeting was adjourned at 10:33 p.m.

APPROVED:

Council Study Session
August 19, 1999

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