Moss Bay
Neighborhood Association Report March
2001
by Laura Lee
Pritt
Sidewalk
Along Lake Washington Boulevard
I am proud to report that the Moss Bay
Neighborhood Association is getting things done. With one major project under way (the traffic circles on 7th
Avenue South) we have another major project in the works and nearly
completed.
The unpaved sidewalk along Lake Washington
Boulevard between 7th Avenue South and the Shumway Condominiums has
been a point of contention for some neighbors for over a year. The Moss Bay Neighborhood Association caught
wind of this back in October when these residents came to a meeting about the
traffic circles. They explained that
they were equally upset about the lack of continuous sidewalk along Lake
Washington Boulevard, and that they would like something to be done about that
as well. Some said they had contacted
the city, but were frustrated and unsure about how to continue with their
requests and achieve a resolution.
The Neighborhood Traffic Control Coordinator for
the City of Kirkland, Tracy Burrows, who was conducting the meeting on the
traffic circles, got the ball rolling for us.
She contacted Ray Steiger, Capital Projects Manager in the Public Works
Department, who responded with an e-mail to the neighbors. Ray detailed a
number of reasons why this section of sidewalk hadn’t been completed, and
outlined an interim solution.
He explained that, typically, sidewalks get paved
because the land is redeveloped and the developer is required by the city to
put in the sidewalk, as was the case along the front of the Shumway
Condominiums, (of course they don’t
have to be this elaborate). This
happens all over the city, even for some residential houses, and it is one of
the ways the city mitigates the impact of the new developments on the
neighborhoods.
The unpaved section of sidewalk along Lake Washington Boulevard runs in front of a residential home that has not been redeveloped for many years. It is the only section of sidewalk along Lake Washington Boulevard from downtown Kirkland to Interstate 520 that is unpaved. It also happens to be an expensive section of sidewalk to pave. The grade of the land abutting the sidewalk is quite steep and will require excavation and a retaining wall to be installed. There is also a fire hydrant along the sidewalk area that will need additional paving around it for access. These two things hike up the price to between $20,000, and $30,000, which is well beyond the cost of a normal sidewalk.
Funding for this type of a project doesn’t fall into the city’s current six-year capital program. Ray did, however, propose an interim solution of asphalting the section of sidewalk, with a price tag of around $8,000 that we gladly accepted. He assured us that the city has also been concerned with this section of sidewalk, and wants to have the standard concrete paving and a retaining wall put in as soon as funds come available. The asphalting would not delay this permanent solution.
The city has already put in the drainage required for the asphalting and, weather permitting, will be finishing the project soon. It may be completed by the time you read this article!
We Are Moss Bay!
I
understand there is still a bit of confusion around town about who we are. Yes, we changed our name, but everything
else has stayed the same. We used to be
called the State Street/Central Neighborhood Association, but last
summer we decided that we needed a better, catchier (and shorter) name. We took a vote at our annual summer picnic
and Moss Bay was the winner.
We are
still the downtown area neighborhood association, which runs north and south
roughly from 85th to N.E. 68th, and east and west from
the train track to the lake. We meet
the second Wednesdays of even months at the Houghton Fire Station number 22,
although we are looking for another meeting place if you have any great ideas. We were meeting at the RoundTable Pizza in
Houghton, but as we found out just before our last meeting, they had gone out
of business, (so sorry to see them go).
We have tried the Library and the Senior Center without success. We would like to find a place that is within
our neighborhood, (the fire station is not), so that it would be walking
distance for most of the residents.
The next Moss Bay Neighborhood Association
meeting is 7-9pm April 11th at the Houghton Fire Station. Stop by for a chat about what’s going on
around town.