SEPA determination of non-significance – sale of property interests to Sound Transit
Gentlemen:
The description of this proposal states “The property interests proposed for sale do ot overlap with any recreational facilities on the north side of Marymoor…”
This is extremely misleading inasmuch as the proposed transit route obliterates the gap between the East Lake Sammamish trail and the Redomond central connector trail, precluding the completion of a trail that the cycling community has been anticipating for years.
Both trails now dead end at arbritrary, non-destination, points. Considering the energy and resources that the county and city have invested in their fragments, it would be very unfortunate if they were not to be connected. There is no good pedestrian / bicycle access to the bear creek trail system from the east and unless it is expected that all transit users will drive to the train this must be corrected.
Shoreline made trail construction in the right of way a condition for permitting Sound Transit in their jurisdiction. King County should do the same while it still has something that the transit agency wants. To give them this property without requiring them to build the trail connection would be a serious disservice to County taxpayers.
From the August 2018 ENVIRONMENTAL RE-EVALUATION CONSULTATION filed by Sound Transit:
Different than the 2011 Project, the Proposed Design Refinements would accommodate an at-grade trail connection between the East Lake Sammamish Trail and Redmond Central Connector with a bridge over Bear Creek. If funding is provided by King County, the missing link to the East Lake Sammamish Trail would be built by Sound Transit when the light rail extension is constructed.
UPDATE 9/3 – got this reply:
Thanks for your comment regarding the Sale of Property Interests to Sound Transit. As you likely observed, King County Parks withdrew its SEPA Checklist and Subsequent Determination for this project as it was ultimately redundant to the environmental process undertaken by Sound Transit.
To address your specific comment, King County Parks has been working closely with Sound Transit since the passage of ST3 to ensure that the East Lake Sammamish Trail North Extension is integrated into and constructed concurrently with the Downtown Redmond Link Extension (DRLE) Project. As you’ve noted, this is a critical trail connection that needs to be completed between two significant regional trails and Sound Transit’s project is providing the first real opportunity to complete this connection. When finished, the East Lake Sammamish Trail will pass through the SR 520/202 Intersection, cross Bear Creek and connect directly with both the Redmond Central Connector and Bear Creek Trails in Redmond.
If you have any additional comments/questions related to Sound Transit’s DRLE Project, please contact Sound Transit’s Community Outreach Specialist, Ryan Bianchi at: Ryan.bianchi@soundtransit.org
Mike Ullmer
King County DNRP | Parks and Recreation Division
Desk: (206) 477-4485 | Cell: (206) 258-0615
mullmer@kingcounty.gov