Letter to the Editor: Take the City Survey regarding the proposed new sidewalk on 20th Ave NW

To the Editor:

The City of Shoreline is requesting citizen input into the proposed new sidewalk design for 20th Avenue NW, the street that leads into the entrance of the Richmond Beach Saltwater Park. Please take a few moments to complete a brief survey online to let City planners know your thoughts while the sidewalk is still in design.

In 2018, 52% of Shoreline residents voted for—as opposed to 48% against—new sidewalks on twelve streets in Shoreline, funded for twenty years by a .02% sales tax increase. The first sidewalk completed in the City’s new sidewalk program is eleven-foot wide, shared pedestrian and bicycle use along 1st Avenue NE (NE 193rd – NE 195th St). 

The new sidewalk design is along 5th Avenue NE, from NE 175th to NE 182nd Court, where 23 mature trees will be removed for six-foot-wide sidewalks on both sides of this narrow street.

For 20th Ave NW, City planners are proposing a ten-foot wide, shared pedestrian and bicycle sidewalk. Mature trees are at risk, depending on which side of the street the sidewalk is to be placed (to be determined).

The Shoreline Transportation Master Plan, Policy 38.4, page 179 states that the City should “Allow for flexibility in the implementation of the Master Street Plan to address site-specific, unique or unforeseen circumstances, such as the presence of bus stops, topography or large trees.”

Take the survey now and make your voice heard!

Carla Carroll
Shoreline Sidewalk Committee
Tree Preservation Code Team