Snohomish County News

Trail meeting turns into discussion on senior center parking
SNOHOMISH - The city is beginning to design the missing link of the Centennial Trail, but seniors at an open house last week still want to know where they can park.
Members of the Snohomish Senior Center use a gravel area outside the center’s property line to park. The gravel area is on the trail’s right-of-way.
“That’s what we’re losing but it was never ours to begin with,” center director Kim Mosley said.
The center has 30 official parking spaces for its 600 members. On a typical weekday, there are almost twice as many cars, and many were parked in the gravel area.
The three-quarter mile missing link will connect the Centennial Trail between the intersection of Maple and Pine avenues and Bowen Street.
The project is largely funded through federal grants. The city received $2.5 million in federal funding for design and construction.
Construction is slated to start next July.
But the city’s federal grant money comes with strict regulations. The city cannot turn a blind eye to seniors parking on the trail property or it risks losing the federal money.
There are plans to add a railing or curb along the edge of the senior center parking lot, project manager Ann Stanton said. It was supposed to have been added when the center was built.
Center member Allen Stewart said the senior center’s Bridge Club alone can fill up all the center’s parking.
Another senior center member said that without the gravel parking area, the center may as well close.
In the nearby streets of the Pilchuck District, parking already is a scarce commodity along Lincoln Avenue. Residents adjacent to the trail are concerned that trail users will take up street parking in front of their homes.
Parks board member Steve Ooten said a lack of parking is a “global issue” that permeates the city.
There is a plan to add about 15 spaces in the trail area for trail users.
Trail design
Consultants from Otak are designing the trail. The open house was to gather public feedback on the trail.
The trail may have at-grade intersections where the trail intersects Third, Fourth and Sixth streets. At those intersections, designers are weighing whether to give pedestrians and cyclists the right-of-way versus cars.
The designers also want to know where to put amenities like public bathrooms, gazebos and benches. There is no money yet to install those amenities, but the designers need to know where to place them along the trail area.
Other design pieces include possibly leaving rail lines and railway ties along the trail section in homage to the trail’s former life as a Burlington Northern Santa Fe rail line. The line last was used in 1998.
“The important thing is not to fail to see an opportunity,” trail master designer Curtis LaPierre of Otak said. LaPierre designed the Interurban Trail in Shoreline.
LaPierre is also evaluating where to place a crossing at Pine Avenue near the Pine and Maple intersection.
A master plan closer to what the trail will finally look like will be presented at a September open house. In October, the designers will go to the City Council for final approval.
About 20 people attended the open house held at the senior center. A majority of attendees were members of the senior center. The city may reach out with more meetings to attract cyclists and other members of the community, Stanton said.

By MICHAEL WHITNEY
Published July 28, 2010