LAKE FOREST PARK —Balancing pedestrian, bicyclist and homeowner concerns along the Burke-Gilman Trail in Lake Forest Park is not an easy task.
That’s what Metro King County Council member Carolyn Edmonds found out at an open house May 12 at Third Place Commons to discuss changes to the trail that is a regional county park.
“We are not going to be able to make everyone happy, we want to make a situation that’s livable,” Edmonds told the crowd of about 50 people which included homeowners along the trail and a few were bicyclists.
Lake Forest Park’s section of the trail is the only portion where the trail weaves to slow down trail-users, speed limit signs are posted at 10 and 15 miles per hour. There are stop signs on the trail by homeowner driveways and double “bollards” — or posts— divide the trail at street intersections.
Cyclists and other trail-users say the stop signs are often ignored and that the double bollards are unsafe because they are inconsistent with the rest of the trail. Homeowners say the stop signs are necessary because driveways across the Burke-Gilman trail have little sight distance, and the double bollards slow trail traffic down.
The county started removing the double bollards this past week and replacing them with single, taller center bollards made of PVC piping, similar to the rest of the trail in King County.
“The bollards and are being removed for safety reasons,” Edmonds said. For trail users coming in opposite directions, the double bollards were confusing and dangerous because there isn’t enough room to pass through on the outside of them. Also, in terms of continuity, throughout the rest of the trail one center bollard is used at crossing, not two, she said.
Other changes have also been proposed, including removing the stop signs at NE 170th Street and Bothell Way, since that crossing is already signalized.
Other stop signs on the trail between 147th and 155th streets were recently tagged with green paint that some homeowners thought meant they were to be removed.
“You are redesigning the bollards to make them go faster, then removing the stop signs — how is that safer?” asked homeowner Bob Travis.
Other homeowners argue that the stop signs are necessary because they cannot see bicyclists when backing out of their driveways.
“We are trying to protect our rights from being sued,” said another homeowner. “The bicyclists know the stop signs are there, they should stop. But if they don’t stop and hit our cars, they can say it was a hit and run and ride off, and they know where we live. We have good laws, they just need to be enforced.”
Another homeowner, Floyd Muth, said he was sued by a cyclist for $23,000 because she lost control and hit some steps on his property.
“Removing the stop signs and bollards creates an expressway for bikers,” he said.
Cyclists at the meeting said the stop signs and bollards should be removed.
“The stop signs seem ridiculous,” said Robert Phelps, who commutes to the University of Washington by bike on the trail.
“I see cyclists ignore the stop signs at driveways, and so I think the stop signs should be removed and replaced with yield signs and light sensors,” that tell cyclists when a car is backing out, said another cyclist.
Edmonds told the crowd she would work to make sure no more stop signs are removed because it would become a liability issue for the county.
“I am not advocating stop sign removal,” she said. “I have contacted the King County Prosecutor’s Office and they say there is a liability issue if we remove the signs.
“I am also working on creating continuity on the trail. Enforcement of Lake Forest Park ordinances on the trail is up to the Lake Forest Park police.”
Police Chief Dennis Peterson said the police use bike patrol on the trail from June to September, but that the City Council recently asked them to start it sooner, and to focus on enforcement.
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