The following is a release from the Kirkland group Save Our Trail:

The efforts by the SaveOurTrail.org community group to preserve the peace and natural beauty of the Cross Kirkland Corridor trail have continued into the new year with the group urging the Kirkland City Council to choose the Sound Transit option for bus rapid transit (BRT) on I-405 (E-02) rather than BRT or Light Rail on the Cross Kirkland Corridor trail. Their efforts have ramped up due to the Jan. 21 date when the City Council will send a response letter to the Sound Transit Board of Directors stating their recommended choice.

Recently, the group presented its views and findings to the City Council, shared their information at neighborhood meetings, and have talked to individual citizens and local businesses, many of whom were not aware of the plan to put transit on the Trail.

SaveOurTrail.org also launched a petition on Dec. 30, 2015 urging the Kirkland City Council to keep transit off the Trail in favor of the I-405 solution. In just 12 days the petition received over 1,500 signatures.

Eighty five percent of the signers are from Kirkland, but the remaining signers include residents outside the city and state who have visited and/or work in Kirkland and have used the trail. Signers have provided over 500 comments, many focused on how much they enjoy using the trail, and how surprised they are that the City Council is proposing to put transit on such a successful city project. Comments include:

“The trail is a jewel – it raises the quality of life index in Kirkland a great deal because it promotes health and is beautiful… Keep the noise and mess of mass transit with other transit – on the 405… Don’t ruin such a gift. Protect it!”

“We just finished spending major $ on this beautiful trail and now the City want to wreak havoc on our neighborhoods by running buses through them and ruining this special place.”

“I’m signing this petition because I appreciate that my kids have a safe trail to walk and bike on!”

To see the full range of comments, go to: https://www.change.org/p/kirkland-city-council-sound-transit-board-kirkland-city-council-vote-for-buses-on-405-not-for-buses-on-the-kirkland-trail/c

Other comments focused on the high cost of the transit solution on the trail versus using I-405. During the City Council’s Jan. 5 meeting, SaveOurTrail.Org presented its findings on why the BRT on I-405 is a better choice. In addition to environmental and safety concerns, the group also found that based on Sound Transit’s proposals, the option for BRT on I-405 also makes economic and transport efficiency sense. Based on Sound Transit’s own statistics (http://soundtransit3.org): BRT on 405 will cost 40 percent less to build per rider than on the trail; BRT on 405 will cost 38 percent less to operate per rider than on the trail; BRT on 405 will move riders 22 percent faster than on the trail; and BRT on 405 will support 27 percent more riders than on the Trail.

To learn more, go to SaveOurTrail.org and change.org, search Kirkland Corridor to support preservation of the trail.