Transportation Committee
The Transportation Committee is concerned with neighborhood traffic and pedestrian safety. Our main issues currently are excessive speeds on our neighborhood arterial streets, safety crossing NE 70th Street and 132ndAvenue NE, police enforcement of traffic regulations, and ramp maintenance for the NE 70th Street exit off of I-405. Our longer term concerns include the impact of the ball fields at the Houghton Transfer Station, the results of the NE 85th Street corridor study, and the possibility of I-405 HOV lane entrances in our neighborhood.
Summary of last meeting:
The overpass and ramps at NE 70th Street from I-405 are not well maintained. There are overgrown weeds and debris that are an eyesore and a potential hazard. Lee Seely of the Transportation Committee has met with Lynn Stokesbury, Kirkland Asst. City Manager, to communicate our concerns. Mr. Stokesbury says the fault lies in a drastically reduced budget for landscaping, since the money has been shifted to road improvement. There is a possibility that a Kirkland service organization might be encouraged to take on the maintenance. Also, the Neighborhood Association might consider funding the project, or perhaps pool money with state and city resources. The next step is writing a letter to our legislators. Ms. Seely will write the letter and get Association approval to put it on letterhead and co-sign it.
Traffic on 132nd Ave NE is a concern. The traffic consistently moves faster than posted limits. Residents on the west side have to cross the street to reach their mailboxes, and there are few crosswalks. There is a bus stop on 132nd Ave and 83rd St, but no crosswalk. It is dangerous for bus riders to cross the street. Karina O'Malley of the Transportation Committee has met with Tony Mazzella, Neighborhood Traffic Control Program Coordinator, and he will look into the possibility ofpainting a crosswalk at that intersection. Mr. Mazzella says that there are various steps the city can take to address traffic concerns, and painting crosswalks is one of the easiest and least expensive. This maybe a simple fix for this problem.
The speeds on the South Rose Hill-Bridle Trails arterial streets are much faster than the posted limits. The main concerns are for NE 60th, NE70th and NE 80th. NE 70th has recently has flashing pedestrian lights added to the intersection at 122nd Ave. There is also a major pedestrian crossing at the South Rose Hill Park. Mr. Mazzella has indicated that there is a possibility to add flag posts to that crossing, if there is neighborhood involvement in maintaining the flag supply. These improvements may serve to slow traffic. However, more police enforcement is needed on all of these streets to bring the speeds down. Ray Schlienzwill be in contact with Rex Caldwell, the head of Kirkland Police traffic enforcement, to discuss our concerns. All of these concerns have been addressed in a letter to James Arndt, Director, City of Kirkland. The city is now looking at our proposals and will get back to us shortly.
- Karina O'Malley