Despite widespread opposition by city residents and the Burke Gilman Trail Citizens Advisory Group, the City of Lake Forest Park passed what the Club believes is an illegal ordinance on Thursday, November 9th. On a vote of 6 to 1, the city council passed Ordinance 951, which will inhibit efforts to renovate the Burke Gilman Trail. The passage of Ordinance 951 prohibits King County from upgrading this oldest stretch of the trail to improve its safety.

As a result, Cascade Bicycle Club is appealing to the Growth Management Hearings Board and is pressing the case that Ordinance 951 violates the Growth Management Act. According to Cascade Bicycle Club attorneys, the proposed ordinance with its current wording, conflicts with state law: "Whether or not specifically intended, the many limitations within the proposed ordinance would severely limit any improvement to the Burke Gilman Trail, would significantly constrain its operation as a regional thoroughfare for non-motorized vehicle transportation, and effectively would render infeasible any significant improvement to the Burke Gilman Trail within Lake Forest Park."

For the past three years, Cascade Bicycle Club has been advocating improvements on this specific section of the Burke Gilman Trail. In 2003, King County began the Burke Gilman Trail Redevelopment program which "evaluated approximately two miles of the Burke Gilman Trail through Lake Forest Park from NE 145th Street to Log Boom Park, and includes recommendations for how the trail can be redesigned and rebuilt to provide for the safety of all users." Trail improvement construction was scheduled to take place in 2007-2008, but is now thrown into doubt by the permitting process required under Ordinance 951.

See you there!

Issue background
Lake Forest Park City Council Passes Anti-Burke-Gilman Trail Ordinance