Sidewalks and bike lanes on NE 116th Street
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| Crosswalk and bike lane to nowhere |
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| Sidewalk to nowhere; containers block bike lane |
We've brought up the issue of lack of sidewalks and safe crossings on 116th with city representatives on multiple occasions going back to 2006. The city's position is that developers are responsible for building sidewalks. Unfortunately the city has allowed multiple loopholes allowing developers to avoid their responsibilities. For example, the neighborhood at the SE corner of 172nd is long since completed, but no sidewalk on 116th was ever constructed. Even when sidewalks were built, in many cases they were very narrow strips adjoining the road with no planter strip or other buffer. Meanwhile, the roundabout at the intersection of 116th & 172nd has been pushed out (again) to 2015, leaving us with likely the most unsafe intersection in the city.
Kudos to Buchan Homes, which built a very nice sidewalk along 116th for Whistler's Ridge.
-Andy Raffman
"...Placing the blame for this "unfinished work" on developers is unacceptable. It is the City that approves plans, and regulates construction projects. We are lucky to have good home builders in Redmond, but we need a stronger handle on "the planning side."
- Richard Morris
Post and Photos By Bob Yoder
We've brought up the issue of lack of sidewalks and safe crossings on 116th with city representatives on multiple occasions going back to 2006. The city's position is that developers are responsible for building sidewalks. Unfortunately the city has allowed multiple loopholes allowing developers to avoid their responsibilities. For example, the neighborhood at the SE corner of 172nd is long since completed, but no sidewalk on 116th was ever constructed. Even when sidewalks were built, in many cases they were very narrow strips adjoining the road with no planter strip or other buffer. Meanwhile, the roundabout at the intersection of 116th & 172nd has been pushed out (again) to 2015, leaving us with likely the most unsafe intersection in the city.
ReplyDeleteKudos to Buchan Homes, which built a very nice sidewalk along 116th for Whistler's Ridge.
Thank you for your insight, Andy. You offer a good history and explanation of the problem valuable to all RNB readers. I plan to post your comments with your name on the main body of the page to increase visibility.
ReplyDeleteThanks again.
Bob
Bob, as you know I like to run on the Powerline Trail running across Education Hill from Avondale to Redmond-Woodinville Road (Hwy 202). Sometimes for some variety I will swing over to 116th and add some more steps. But running along 116th from the lighted intersection at 172nd is not so fun because the sidewalks are poorly designed. It's too bad because the city tried to widen the road (116th) and install infrastructure (under the road). But it's like they forgot about finishing the sidewalks that sort of start out, and then strangely stop. Placing the blame for this "unfinished work" on developers is unacceptable. It is the City that approves plans, and regulates construction projects. We are lucky to have good home builders in Redmond, but we need a stronger handle on "the planning side."
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment, Richard. I moved your take home message up to the page to make sure readers don't miss it.
ReplyDelete