The Kirkland City Council has approved a $250,000 study of a possible Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line on the Cross Kirkland Corridor (CKC), which the city believes would be the “most practical, effective and affordable outcome” of Sound Transit’s potential plans for transportation along the corridor.

The study, which all but Councilmember Toby Nixon voted in favor of during the Sept. 15 meeting, will look at BRT planning, pre-design and cost-estimating that will later either be presented to Sound Transit or used by the city itself when looking at other related transportation options.

In August, the Sound Transit Board adopted a list of projects that might be included in its 2016 ST3 ballot measure. Two of those potential project options were for transit along the CKC, a light rail line (LRL) or a BRT from Totem Lake to Bellevue. While Sound Transit staff will be making their own recommendations to the board about which projects to include, the city believes Kirkland must conduct its own study in order to effectively advocate for resident interests and ensure that Sound Transit’s plans for the CKC section of the Eastside Corridor are compatible with the city’s own vision.

Kirkland City Manager Kurt Triplett said the $250,000 would provide the city with a conceptual design of what the BRT would look like in terms of scale and feel, which he said would be a smaller, less expensive, and less impactful BRT system.

“In talking with other cities like Redmond and Bellevue, one of the more effective ways in crafting a partnership with Sound Transit to bring to them what you really think fits your community and its scale,” he said. “We think this is essential for us to truly get a vision of the corridor the community wants.”

Additionally, Triplett said, the city has been having conversations with King County Metro about the possibility of regional express bus routes, where the study could also be applicable.

“This study would be a good foundation should Kirkland have to do its transportation work in the future,” he said.

Those on the council who voted in favor of the study stressed its necessity as a way of maintaining control over what Sound Transit does with Kirkland’s section of the Eastside Corridor, with Councilmembers Shelley Kloba and Doreen Marchione expressing concern that Sound Transit might create a “one-size-fits-all” transportation system.

Mayor Amy Walen said that if they’re going to be successful at influencing Sound Transit, they will need to have more than just a general idea of what the city wants.

“What you have to do is be a self starter,” she said. “And you have to go and show Sound Transit what you mean, because when we say BRT on the Cross Kirkland Corridor what they hear is ‘This is how we do BRT. It’s a 60 foot right-of-way. It’s this size of buses. This is how much its costs per mile.’ They have a huge machine that grinds out one model of BRT.”

The study, Councilmember Dave Asher said, will enable them to keep Kirkland’s interests at the table.

“If Kirkland hadn’t moved forward with great purpose to establish the Cross Kirkland Corridor as it current sits today, we wouldn’t have been in a competitive position to be included in the Sound Transit recommendations,” he said. “Sound Transit has its way of doing things and we have a master plan that calls for concurrent use of transit…We expect that that can be done along the Cross Kirkland Corridor. We’re going to have to help Sound Transit see that vision in order to accomplish that effectively and to meet the vision in our master plan.”

“One of my basic principles of government is whenever you have the opportunity, use other people’s money,” he added. “This is an opportunity to use Sound Transit investments along our corridor to not only further transit investments in the community but the entire Cross Kirkland Corridor investment.”

Councilmember Jay Arnold emphasized the need for establishing a link between Kirkland-based employers and any light rail system in Bellevue, which a BRT could provide.

“We are leading the region in some of our design concepts here, and even getting transit on the Cross Kirkland Corridor on the project list is a tremendous effort,” he said.

Nixon, however, said that his preference has been for a people mover or automated people mover (APM) over a “distant second preference” for a BRT, and questioned whether Sound Transit will actually decide to go with a BRT regardless of what the study ultimately shows.

“I’m really skeptical Sound Transit will put a BRT along the corridor, no matter how much we spend,” he said. “I’d rather spend the money on something that would bring direct and immediate benefit to the people of our city, like further improvements of the Cross Kirkland Corridor or pedestrian and bicycle improvements elsewhere.”

Councilmember Penny Sweet said the study was a much-needed next step in the process of developing transportation on the CKC.

“It demonstrates our commitment, not only to Sound Transit, but agencies all across the board,” she said. “I don’t know what it’s going to look like, whether it’s going to be pods or gondolas or whatever it’s going to be, but I think we have to take the step.”