As the city of Kirkland lobbies Sound Transit to include bus rapid transit along the Cross Kirkland Corridor as part of the ST3 vote next year, it is also working on its own internal plans for improving traffic congestion.

Last month the City Council voted 5-2 to approve a Transportation Master Plan, which represents the city’s vision for the community as part of the Comprehensive Plan Update they’re expected to approve soon.

The master plan looks to improve options for various modes of transportation while reducing reliance on single occupancy vehicles (SOV), a goal the council has previously adopted. It also calls for frequent and reliable transit service.

In anticipation of enormous growth in the the Totem Lake Urban Center, where redevelopment is planned at the Totem Lake Malls site (to be called the Village at Totem Lake), the plan requires the adoption of “mode split goals” in that urban center, with the objective of having SOVs constitute 45 percent of traffic during peak hours, while aiming to have HOV carpool and vanpool make up 39 percent. The goal for transit would be seven percent and walking and biking nine percent of traffic during peak hours.

Totem Lake is one of many sections of the city where they expect new development, and along with that population growth, to put additional strains on the current road infrastructure. It is also in Totem Lake that city officials hope to see some sort of transit center for bus rapid transit (BRT) using the CKC, a possible Sound Transit project. However, Sound Transit’s easement rights on the CKC and the rest of the Eastside Rail Corridor leaves the city with only direct, internal control over traffic within their municipality. However, even there they are restricted. At a recent public meeting in downtown to discuss the possibility of rapid transit along the CKC, Public Works Director Kathy Brown said it is impractical for them to try to improve traffic congestion by building more streets or widening existing roads. Not only would it be far too costly, but most residents have already expressed their opposition to those plans. Additionally, she said even if they did, drivers from Interstate-405 stuck in bad traffic would turn off into Kirkland.

Transportation Engineering Manager David Godfrey told the council at their Nov. 17 meeting that the master plan takes into account land use along with funding constraints for transportation projects within a 20-year period.

However, Councilmember Dave Asher, one of the two opposing votes, raised concerns over the city’s future financial status and how it might negatively impact transportation funding.

“My key concern, my fundamental concern…is that we’re assuming the same resource level that we’ve had into the future,” he said. “I need some kind of assurance, I need some kind of pathway to get to significant increase in resources. I think we need a significant amount more and a path to get there is terribly troubling for me in considering passing this plan.”

Another aspect of the plan that drew criticism is its goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 50 percent of their 2007 level by 2030. The plan states that “an overwhelming scientific consensus maintains that climate change is due primarily to the human use of fossil fuels,” and that because a third of Kirkland’s greenhouse gas emissions are related to transportation “it’s clear that changes in transportation, using less fossil fuels and reducing vehicle miles of travel for example, will be needed to achieve the targets.”

“It is virtually impossible to meet adopted climate change goals without changing the way we travel,” the plan states. Among the plan’s goals is to reduce vehicle-miles-of-travel by 40 percent.

The plan also calls for new developments, under certain circumstances, to establish what are known as Transportation Demand Management Plans, which are intended to reduce the number of trips taken by commuters to work at properties based on the number of employees. The requirements can range from providing transit passes to placing a maximum amount of trips the site can generate, something which the city would monitor, according to the master plan. Under Washington’s Commute Reduction (CTR) Law, the city is required to set a goal for the aggregate performance of CTR sites. The city’s set goals are to have CTR-impacted employers reduce the number of drive alone trips by 18 percent while reducing the number of miles traveled by 18 percent.

Earlier this year, Godfrey said that the master plan’s vision isn’t intended to restrict people’s transportation choices as much as make more available.

“Nobody is saying you shouldn’t drive,” he told the Reporter in May. “It’s saying we should make sure we have transportation alternatives for people. It’s more like offering alternatives. I would say it’s about making alternatives available rather than directing people to make certain choices. It’s about making more choices viable.”

However, councilmember Toby Nixon, the second “nay” vote, strongly expressed his opposition to the climate change-related regulations, saying that while computer models indicate a relationship between carbon emissions and climate change, there has been no testable evidence. He also attacked the claim of a scientific consensus, saying the paper that made the assertion has been disproven.

“I cannot in good conscience vote for such a policy,” he said. “So long as this plan establishes harsh regulations to achieve such an unrealistic and damaging goal, I cannot support it.”

He did add, though, that “If passing this plan required my vote I might in fact vote for it.”

Mayor Amy Walen defended the inclusion of the climate change policies while noting the irony of her co-owning the Ford of Kirkland.

“Whether climate change is man-made or naturally-caused, it is a reality, and I still think reduction of carbon use is a worthy goal no matter what, even though I’m in the car business and people point that out to me all the time,” she said. “I really believe that conservative values call for saving things and using less carbon is a good thing.”

The master plan also has a vision of eliminating all transportation related fatal and serious injury crashes by 2035.

This “zero based” safety goal, along with several others, reflects the city’s desire for making alternative means of transportation more available or convenient to use.

According to data provided in the master plan, the number of fatalities has remained low in recent years, with one pedestrian death and one car-related death in 2014.

The zero-based safety goal provides a philosophical groundwork that will help guide them as they plan and carry out city projects, according to Godfrey.

“The important thing about a vision zero type approach is it’s multiple dimensional,” he told the Reporter in May. “It’s not, ‘Oh, what engineering changes should we make?’”

Also envisioned in the master plan is further work on the Cross Kirkland Corridor to improve its connectivity with the rest of the city. Along with purchasing property in the Houghton neighborhood to connect the CKC with the local shopping center, the city also plans to build a bridge and elevator at the South Kirkland Park and Ride located at Northeast 38th Place, where it intersects with the corridor, in order to make it more accessible.

The city will also work with the Lake Washington School District to promote more students walking or biking to school either through policy changes or community programs. They would also review walk routes to determine if changes need to be made to improve usability.

However, Godfrey also said that much of the master plan doesn’t actually introduce new ideas, but merely reflects existing city policy.

“What this does is put in writing some of the approaches we’ve been using for some time,” he told the Reporter in May. “It lays out the policy goals and framework for, what I would say, largely the way we think about things today… I think it’s more like putting in writing in goals and policy format how we’re operating now.”

The master plan can be read in its entirety at www.kirklandwa.gov.