Mr. Glenn Sugiyama
City of Redmond Risk Manager

Good day Mr. Sugiyama, my name is Mike Eddy and I am writing on behalf of the Friends of Lake Sammamish about the dangers posed to citizens due to the unsafe conditions on West Lake Sammamish Parkway.

The Friends formed after hearing about opposition to safety improvements associated with the proposed project to rehabilitate West Lake Sammamish Parkway. A handful of vocal waterfront property owners comprise the opposition, most of whom live in Bellevue, including the vocal leader.

There currently is no northbound shoulder on most of WLSP in Redmond. American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) guidelines stipulate that roadways in which bicycles and motor vehicles share the roadway require at least 12' of lane width when a shoulder is present. The vehicle lanes constructed in 1929 are only 10' wide, an inadequate width even if there was a shoulder. Per the Revised Code of Washington it is illegal to ride a bicycle facing traffic. The southbound shoulder is 10' wide with no physical separation or barrier from oncoming traffic. AASHTO calls for a minimum of 12' width and physical separation from oncoming traffic for a path shared by cyclists and pedestrians. For this reason Redmond has not designated the WLSP west shoulder as a shared-use path. Therefore, the only way to ride northbound legally is to take the entire vehicle lane. This is often met with hostile resistance in the form of yelling, honking, and forcing of cyclists off the road by motorists. For fear of being "dead right" many cyclists knowingly break the law and ride northbound against traffic. The majority, however, unknowingly break the law. Statewide, cyclists riding against traffic account for 2.5 times the number of bicycle/motor vehicle collisions involving cyclists hit from behind. This coupled with traffic counts where there is between 5 and 34 times the amount of traffic entering and exiting WLSP from the west demonstrates why WLSP was determined to be far and away the most dangerous road to ride a bike in King County in a study conducted by KC in conjunction with Harborview Medical Center. In addition, 40% of accidents along WLSP in Redmond are due to roadside obstacles - often parked vehicles - blocking lines of sight in the public right-of-way.

To address these safety issues the City of Redmond is proposing, among other improvements, to add 4' bicycle lanes to both sides of the road. This will meet AASHTO guidelines for a northbound bicycle facility, leave more room for pedestrians and southbound cyclists on the west shoulder, and increase lines of sight on the east by eliminating the roadside obstacles of boats, RVs, parked cars, refuse containers, and encroaching vegetation.

West Lake Sammamish Parkway is used to access schools (especially Audubon Elementary), Idylwood Park, Marymoor Park, Microsoft, and businesses in Overlake, Willows, and downtown Redmond. It is also a regional connector between the Sammamish River Trail, the I90/Mountains to Sound Greenway, and the cities of Redmond, Bellevue, Issaquah, Sammamish, and others with few, if any, alternatives.

Because there are no feasible alternatives to using WLSP to access neighborhood amenities and the neighborhood, the Friends have submitted an electronic petition with more than 500 signatories, approximately 30% of whom are Redmond residents, in support of the City's proposed plan for converting WLSP from a community (and City) liability into a community asset. The Friends has also submitted nearly 200 typed comments in support of the City's proposed plan and I have appended 20 volunteered stories about accidents, close calls, and deterrents to using the parkway due to the dangers of walking and riding it.

If the Bellevue-led opposition succeeds in lobbying the Redmond city council to vote to remove the northbound bike lane from the project or otherwise halt or delay this funded project, the City risks being found negligent in its duties to repair a known danger in the event of a lawsuit.

An 8 year old Bellevue boy was critically injured two weeks ago on WLSP, just south of Redmond, when he was struck by vehicle while hailing his school bus. He lies in Children's Hospital with suspected permanent brain injuries and 0% mental faculties. There is no way to know whether the improved visibility offered by the proposed northbound bike lane would have prevented this tragedy, but the Friends believe the bike lane is well worth its $75k marginal cost.

The Friends of Lake Sammamish is in the process of forming a not-for-profit organization dedicated solely to soliciting donations for victims injured in accidents on the West Lake Sammamish Parkway and their families.

I am looking forward to your official response as the Redmond Risk Manager. Please advise me as to your recommendation to the City Council regarding the proposed West Lake Sammamish Parkway improvement project prior to the public presentation scheduled for 7:00 PM Monday, 4/21.

Please make this part of public record.

Thank you,

Mike Eddy

Friends of Lake Sammamish

First Last City AccidentStory

Jason Orr Redmond

A honk of the horn...and a narrow miss by a speeding Honda. I'm glad this time I only suffered some scrapes and bruises. My friends warned me about this road...maybe someday the city will fix it...I hope it won't take death to open their eyes.

Christine Morton Redmond

"Dear Mayor and Council members:

I strongly support the WLSP Improvement Project AS designed with the bike lane INCLUDED. I live in the Wildtree housing development, just across from Audubon school. My children and I go to Idlywood Park on average about once a week in the winter and 2-3 times a week in summer. I bike at least once a month to/from my home to Marymoor. My husband used to bike to work to Microsoft along WLSP to 40th St but felt so vulnerable he has changed his route to go up 24th St instead. It takes him longer but we are less fearful for his safety. He rides 2-3 times/week.

Walking along WLSP with my children is a harrowing experience. Drivers do not often obey the speed limit and the existing path along the South side is not really wide enough for me to walk alongside my older child as I push a stroller or pull a wagon with my younger child. A wider and more well marked path along BOTH sides of the Parkway would increase the visibility of pedestrians and bikers.

Furthermore, the presence of the flashing pedestrian crosswalk at 172nd St and WLSP does not seem to communicate to many drivers their obligation to STOP and let pedestrians cross. I have stood with my two children waiting for up to five minutes for a considerate driver to stop to let us cross. The public access to Idlywood Park for pedestrians is severely compromised by the lack of safe, well marked pathways along WLSP and lack of enforcement of traffic laws.

I understand that you are being lobbied by homeowners along the Parkway to cut the bike lane or make other changes to the suggested plan. I strongly urge you to consider your position: Are you supporting and upholding the rights of hundreds of families to walk and bike safely along the Parkway or the rights of a few vocal homeowners who want to protect their rights to park on City property and avoid having their neighbors walk by their homes? My neighbors and I vote and we are very concerned about how you will vote.

Sincerely,

Christine Morton, PhD

18003 NE 30th St

Redmond, WA 98052

425-883-0950"

William Davidson Bellevue

As a bike rider who uses West Lake Sammamish Parkway, I would urge that Council support the creation of a northbound bike/pedestrian lane. The shoulder on the west side is too narrow and hazardous for northbound and southbound use. What space exists on the east side of the road is frquently occupied for extendsed periods by boats, RV's (I beleive this is illegal), and parked vehicles. With high speed of traffic on this road, I would encourage every effort to create a northbound bike/pedestrian lane before someone is either killed or seriously maimed.

Doug Redmond "To start with I`m not sure 4` is enough for safe

travel. That is only approximately 10"" on each side of the bike. That aside, I regularly use the bike lane and have had numerous close calls from the mail truck missing me by a couple of inches after shining a light in the drivers face (around 4:00pm in early fall) to a man slowly driving in the bike lane talking on his phone. In the phone case, I was told I was in the wrong and should be riding out in traffic and not in his way! Most intersections are dangerous to cross (40th street being an especially bad

one) because people just don`t take the time to look for us ridding.

My biggest thought is to add either large turtles to devide the bike lane from the car lane or some sort of barrier between the lanes.

I won`t let my kids ride it alone because it is so dangerous with cars crossing the lines so often."

Susan Long Seattle No one accident story, just always afraid when

riding on the parkway. Some cars don't slow down, and refuse to move at all to provide some space. Sometimes road debris and storm drains force a bicyclist over temporarily - there needs to be a bike lane!

Douglas Dye Arlington

I frequently train on my bike in the Redmond area. This pathway and others like it are some of the reasons that I come to Redmond from Arlington to ride. There are very few safe riding areas like this in Snohomish county.

James Rupple Issaquah

I frequently bicycle around Lake Sammamish to use Marymoor park, shop in downtown Redmond and Redmond town center. I have had several close calls riding in the bicycle lane heading north as drivers rarely look to their right as they pull into traffic. I do not use the East side of the road since it is in such bad condition and all of the boat trailers and cars parked along the edge force me into the traffic lane. I have always considered this just part of the risk since the city at least put in a bicycle lane. Now that I see that the city and homeowners are making a conscious decision to limit accessibility on the East side, I will consider a suit against the homeowners and the city council if I am ever injured for purposely putting me at risk for their convenience. For those who think it isn't possible to sue them, consider that 20 years ago no one would have believed a smoker could sue the cigarette companys for endangering their lives.

Kevin Simmons Redmond

"On Sunday March 9th 2002 I was riding my bicycle along with my 9 year old daughter on her bike, North bound along West Lake Sammamish approaching the intersection of NE 40th street. The intersection is a four-way intersection and controlled by a light.

My daughter was approximately 10 feet behind me as we rode on the West Side of the street in the striped bike lane. The light for us was green. I approached the intersection while a car traveling West continued through the intersection without stopping. The driver, looking North while turning right (South) collided with me. Luckily I was not seriously hurt, but my bike was severely damaged. The driver stopped because of the collision.

Although the driver was guilty and at fault for not stopping at the red light and looking both ways before proceeding with the turn, I was the victim and the eventual loser in the accident. Fortunately neither my daughter nor I were hurt and I am here today to testify about the unsafe conditions along the roadway.

I believe this accident never would have occurred had we been riding with traffic on the East Side of the Parkway in a bike lane. However that side of the street is not striped to accommodate bicycles.

I strongly encourage you to provide the necessary striping to this section of roadway for the thousands of non-motorized users who rely on PUBLIC streets for travel.

Sincerely

Kevin Simmons

17616 NE 31st Pl.

Redmond, WA 98052

Residing here for the last 8 years"

Michael McDonagh Renton

I would love to ride around Lake Sammamish, as I live just south of Issaquah. But I will not do it because of the poor state of facilities on West Lk Samm Pkwy. With high traffic volumes and no bike lanes, it is just plain dangerous! Please do the right thing and make the proposed bicycles and pedestrian improvements. It will benefit the entire community.

Trevor Hall Bellevue I don't have an accident story to tell

(thank goodness), but that is for a very simple reason: I no longer ride on West Lake Sammamish Parkway (WSLP). It is simply too dangerous. Although WSLP is the most convenient (and scenic) route from my home to Marymoor and the Burke-Gilman, I am forced to take alternate routes. Don't lose this opportunity to create a safe environment for bikes and cars to share a roadway.

Charles Buchalter Lynnwood

I am highly experienced cyclist and former Cascade Bicycle Club board member. I just rode W Lake Sam Pkwy for the first time in many years yesterday, March 16, 2003. I was in a small group of about 6 riders heading south. The roughly 4 foot shoulder was surprisingly debris strewn and provided an unnervingly bare minimum safety distance from passing cars. When we had to steer around obstacles like potholes and larger debris the only place to go was into the main car travel lane. And when we passed the occasional northbound rider it was absolutely necessary to move into the car lane. This felt very unsafe given the curves and limited visibility along the roadway. When one person in our group had a flat we were very fortunate to be near a parking area so that we could get off of the road to repair the tire. Most areas along the road did not offer such opportunities for safety.

Jeff Nachtigal Seattle "Although I have not been involved in an

accident on Lake Sammamish Parkway, I can readily imagine it because of several close calls I've had while riding southbound. Twice, speeding cars have veered across the shoulder just in front of me. I believe these were accidental and not intentional moves by the drivers, but nonetheless, a bicyle always loses in an ""accident"" with a car.

I am a competitive cyclist and ride thousands of miles a year in King County. I cannot overstate how much more safe I feel on a designated, striped and painted road that clearly makes gives cyclists and pedestrians a right of way. There is an opportunity to make West Lake Sammamish Parkway a safe road to ride, an opportunity that comes along all too few times in our road/car dominated development society. Please don't let a minority take away the chance to build a lasting improvement for the good of many.

Thank you. "

Jim Paige Federal Way

"I havn't had any accidents, just a few close calls. After work in Renton I would ride up the west side of Lake Sammasish and down the east side of Lake Wash. The most dangerious part of the ride was along Lake Sammamish. As you can imagine heading north on the east side of the road is very congested with automible traffic. With no shoulder I was constently passed closer than was safe and honked at, along with multiple verbal and hand signs. I tried riding up the west side of the road with the wider shoulder. But it was almost a dangerious. With cyclists, joggers, walkers and children heading towards you, it made for an unsafe situation. If you had to swerve to avoid someone (which I had to do on more that one occasion), you could very easily wind up on the road facing cars, with a possible head on collision situation. "

Carol Worley Redmond "I've had too many ""near misses"" to enumerate. I

shouldn't have to risk life or limb to ride a bike on a gorgeous day. I would never even think of allowing my children to walk or ride there the way things are.

I've always just assumed that when the road was upgraded that the bike lane situation would be corrected."

Michael Lanfear Redmond

March 13, 2000, 7AM, about 1/2 mile south of the Northup Way intersection. I was traveling southbound on the West Samm trail and encountered a construction crew blocking the bike lane with their equipment. I was waved around by the flagger. As I made my way through the debris an obviously angry driver in a Porsche swerved around me, coming within inches of me and kicking up debris and dust. To top it off the little jerk had the gall to flip me the bird through his sun-roof. He obviously felt he owned the road and that I was an impediment - and made his point by nearly hitting me. West Samm is dangerous to bikers, joggers and walkers because it provides insufficient space for safe usage. Fix it before little Porsche boy goes postal.

Elaine Pruis Redmond

"I run or bike on W Lake Samm four days a week. One morning in January I was running North Bound in the bike lane, against traffic. I was pushing my 18 month old daughter, Katie, in a baby jogger. As I crossed the 180th St intersection, a south bound motorist failed to slow down as they readied to turn onto 180th. When they finally did see me in the intersection, they slammed on their brakes, causing two cars behind them to crash. The third car behind them swerved into the bike lane and nearly hit me and my daughter head-on. I had to run up onto the hillside. This incident would not have occured if I had been on the other side of the street. But, there is no safe lane for runners, walkers, or bikers. Please Please Please create a safe lane for North-bound pedestrians and bikers. This is only one of several near misses I have encountered over a three year use of W. Lake Samm.

Sincerely,

Elaine Pruis"

Mike Eddy Redmond

"I have close calls on WLSP every time I ride it. Cyclists riding northbound are intimidated by motorists bearing down on them from behind at high rates of speed with only a 10' lane width and no shoulder to use to avert dangerous situations (AASHTO calls for 12' lane width when a shoulder is present). Because of this, cyclists ride against traffic on the west shoulder creating a game of ""chicken"" between southbound cyclists and pedestrians. One nice summer evening I was exiting a sidestreet and headed southbound. A teenage boy and his father approached me on bicycles heading northbound while a motor vehicle approached me from behind. The boy was confused on which side to pass and was clearly worried about striking the oncoming vehicle head-on. He swerved right, saw the vehicle, panicked, and swerved left and collided with me. We both fell. Neither sustained any transportable injuries, but the father about had a heart attack witnessing the ordeal. My bike wheel was ""pringled"" and cost $150 to repair and I had to call a friend to get a ride home and miss an appointment. This accident and thousands like these don't get reported because there is no legal or insurance claim to be made and no convenient way to report them. Please create a northbound bike lane so community members can walk and ride safely with peace of mind."

Karin LaPadula Bellevue

"There needs to be a BARRIER between the existing bike lane and the road. I bicycle to work from my home on W. Lake Samm Pkwy during the Spring and Summer. Bike riding along the parkway is risky, but there are no other options for me. The bike/ped lane is not respected by the car drivers. Some cars park in the bike lane, forcing bikers to go out on the busy street to avoid the parked cars. I have had several close calls while using the existing path; one that was especially bad was when a driver decided to use the bike lane as a turn lane, and almost hit me head on. I am more in favor of protecting the boudaries of the existing path than in creating a new path across the street, although I would suupport that, too. Thanks, K. LaPadua"