On the right is a photo of the artistic railing of the 116th Street Bridge. It crosses the Sammamish River. The bridge marks the northernmost beginning of the "western river Powerline Trail" paralleling the Sammamish River. Mountain bikers, runners and hikers will use this mostly unknown, gravely trail. The trail crosses over "Peters Creek" by the 90th Street Bridge storage centers and ends at Aegis Living near the 7/11. The western river "Powerline Trail", with several bridges along the way, is a good alternative to the trafficy Eastern Sammamish River Trail.
The 116th Street Bridge is known fondly as York Bridge, named after York (1897), a town once situated on the western bank. The art railing and bridge are separate, yet compliment each other. The artist, Cliff Garten, worked with the bridge engineers to design an arc into the deck. According to the county bridge plaque "the curving movements of the railing system are memory traces of the braided streams and salmon habitat of the Sammamish River prior to being channeled."
This Sammamish River picture (left) was taken from the York Bridge, looking south towards the city. You can see both trails, the eastern river trail (left) and western river "Powerline trail." Note the kayakers pulled up on the eastern banks. A few years ago, a city consultant (Berger Associates) suggested the city consider diverting some of the hectic eastern trail bike traffic, over the river, to the western side. His plan is to slow down the eastern side and transition it into quiet, grassy, gathering areas accessing the river. What do you think about this idea? Have you been on the Western Sammamish River (Powerline) Trail, yet? The main trunk of of the western trail ends near a beautiful, huge willow tree and picnic area across the river from from Luke McRedmond Park and the new RiverPark Apartments. The western trail isn't developed for road bikes at this time, but mountain biking, hiking, and strolling will "get you there.” Do you think the city should route road bikes to the west for a stretch?story and photos by Bob Yoder
I haven't been as far north as the 116th street bridge (via the eastside trail) in at least a year. I think the idea of creating little beach like areas for access to the river is a good one. I have walked the westside trail from where you cross the river via the "rust bridge" in the north, back down to 85th Street in the south. It's a good walk, and one gets a much stronger feeling of being "in the country".
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