Sammamish City Council has asked city staff to develop a process to evaluate existing barricades and future connectivity (both for vehicular and nonmotorized traffic) within the City of Sammamish. City staff reviewed a proposed public involvement process for this work with the City Council in June 2009. The process is committed to being flexible and open. Please see below an outline of key steps that are included:

• Gather data
• Engage the public
• Define a successful outcome
• Develop draft criteria
• Revisit the public
• Test the Criteria
• Develop an Implementation Plan

The end result will hopefully provide clear criteria to determine if an existing barricade will stay or be removed and if it is determined that it should be removed, what steps and/or improvements are necessary before it is removed. It is also intended that the criteria will be able to be used to guide future decisions related to opening future motorized and non motorized traffic connections within the city.

The City of Sammamish wants to hear from as many different residents as possible relating to the subject of connectivity. Our motto is “Building Community Together”. This means that the staff cannot create a community without the help of the City Council and the residents who live here.

To kick start the process City staff hired an outside consultant, Glatting Jackson Kercher Anglin, to assist with the development of the public outreach. They participated in a “bus tour” of some of the existing barricades that exist within Sammamish. This occurred on July 28, 2009. {Click here for the tour map.}

The purpose of the tour was to see how the barricaded locations are each unique. A handful of citizens joined the bus tour and provided some great insight. It was very clear during the bus tour that with or without connections, there are many existing concerns around traffic and pedestrian safety.

The City held a debrief meeting with our consultant on July 30, 2009 that was videotaped and currently running on channel 21 for viewing. You may also {click here to see the power point presentation} that was presented at that meeting.

Our first citywide outreach occurred on October 22, 2009 and October 28, 2009.  We held the same meeting on two different nights to provide flexibility for residents who wanted to attend.  The purpose of the meetings was to help develop and evaluate criteria and steps to be applied to specific locations as the process progresses.  The meetings were well attended.  We had approximately 70 attendees both nights.  As participants entered the meeting room they were provided an agenda that had a pre-assigned number.  This directed residents to a random table with the intent of providing everyone the opportunity to hear diverse viewpoints such as geographically, because of where they live in the city.

Each table ended up with approximately 10 residents and was provided a staff facilitator.  The assignment given to each table was to prepare a list of criteria that City Council should use when reviewing whether specific barricades should be removed or remain in place.  We asked the tables be specific and to prioritize when describing the criteria.  Ideally, the criteria would be specific and measurable.  Each table then listed their criteria on large easels. {CLICK HERE TO SEE THEM}. 

We heard very similar themes from each group.  Recommended criteria included (but are not limited to):
            - Vehicular and non-motorized safety
            - Traffic speeds/dangerous driving
            - Traffic volumes
            - Vehicle Miles Traveled
            - Topography – steep slopes
            - Roadway geometry – vertical/horizontal curves (Site Distance issues)
            - Proximity to school walking routes
            - Preservation of neighborhood character

Staff will be presenting a recommended list to the City Council on March 15^th. The presentation will also include recommended next steps in the process.

Schedule

• June 9, 2009: Staff shares outline of draft process with City Council.
• July 28, 2009: Bus Tour
• July 30, 2009: Debrief Meeting
• October 22, 2009 AND October 28, 2009 City Council Chamber at City Hall from 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM
• March 15, 2010: Staff presentation to City Council reviewing proposed next steps.

Data/Maps

There is a lot of history around why and when barricades were erected in the City. There have been studies done by King County, by various developers and be the City of Sammamish. Staff is working to gather some of the historical data. We have also been fortunate to have citizens offer their research materials. We will continue to gather information so that as the specific barricade discussion happen, staff will have as much of the historical picture as possible.

Based on what we hear at the public meeting there may be new data and studies to assemble. For example, projected traffic volume shifts can be pulled from the City’s transportation model. This type of data would be very helpful as neighborhoods begin to understand the implications of changes to the City’s roadway network.

Please click here for a copy of the map showing the various locations that are considered a part of this process.