Residents packed the Kirkland Performance Center (KPC) Thursday night during an open meeting with city officials as part of an ongoing discussion about the future of the Cross Kirkland Corridor (CKC). While the city is looking to lobby Sound Transit to include bus rapid transit along the CKC on their planned ballot measure next fall, many residents have voiced strong opposition to the plan for a variety of reasons.

Following an informal meeting inside the KPC’s lobby, where residents were able to discuss the concepts with city staff, the city gave a formal presentation in the theater before soliciting questions from the audience, many of whom wore green in the form of shirts, bandanas and scarves to express their opposition to BRT. A group called “Save Our Trails” has also set up a website voicing their belief that “buses and trails don’t mix.”

City Manager Kurt Triplett said during the presentation that they’re attempting to address several related but not directly connected issues, one of which is traffic congestion. In a 2014 Citizen Survey, which the city does every two years, they found that citizens rated traffic very low in terms of how the city was performing, while simultaneously rating it as moderately important.

“Our goal is always to make the corridor better and more useful to people,” he said. “We’re thrilled to know you all love it. It’s a good thing.”

The city’s hope is for Sound Transit to build a two-lane BRT system from Totem Lake to downtown Bellevue, with around 6-8 stations in Kirkland, where electric buses to stop every six and a half minutes. Sound Transit has an easement on the CKC.

Earlier this year the City Council approved a $250,000 conceptual design plan for a BRT they hope to present to Sound Transit in order to convince them to place it on the ballot. Triplett has previously said the design plan would provide the city with strong vision 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.

The BRT would take up about 24-36 feet of space out of the 100 foot-wide corridor, which the city said, if built on the east side of the corridor, would allow them to keep the interim trail where it currently sits on the corridor while allowing for an additional trail. Triplett referenced the Google section of the trail, which has a park and recreational space, as an example of what they see existing elsewhere along the CKC.

Another potential project would install a light rail system on the corridor, an idea which has drawn the support of some residents who believe it would take up less space and be more efficient than BRT. One resident during the question and answer segment referenced the Amsterdam Metro, which uses a combination of rapid transit and light rail.

However, city officials said it would include less stops in Kirkland and also add complications at intersections, whereas buses could simply drive onto the roads.

Public Works Director Kathy Brown stated that other city-based solutions, such as building more streets or widening existing roads, would be far too costly and 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 and clog up those extra lanes.

Aside from population growth, one of the main causes for traffic congestion is the fact that those who work in Kirkland don’t live in Kirkland (92 percent) and those who live in Kirkland don’t work there (90 percent), which means both have to drive in and out of the city every day.

“Traffic congestion is only going to get worse unless we do something about it,” Brown said. “Our goal is to keep our options open and our projects on that list.”

One of the possible projects to be included in Sound Transit’s ballot 2016 measure is BRT on I-405. Although city officials stated it might not serve Kirkland’s needs as well, some residents like Suzanne Welton, who handed out fliers and green-colored clothing articles outside the KPC, believes they should look to the infrastructure already present on I-405 rather than use the corridor for what she believes would be an inappropriate use.

“To me, it’s like the Burke-Gilman Trail,” she said. “You wouldn’t want buses on that trail.”

The Burke-Gilman trail is a 27-mile recreational trail that runs along a now-abandoned railway corridor in Seattle.

Throwing a wrench in the works is the fact that although the city purchased the CKC section of the Eastside Rail Corridor from the Port of Seattle, Sound Transit still retains easement rights to put in rapid transit. On top of that, Sound Transit’s own process for determining projects to go on the ballot was shortened significantly when the state legislature went into special session, forcing them to wait until the legislature gave them the authorization to place a measure on the ballot.

One of the city’s fears, Triplett said, is rapid transit going in that didn’t take into account Kirkland’s transportation needs would geographically and politically divide the city. Also, because it sometimes takes a decade for a Sound Transit project to actually get built, Triplett said, if the city is going to get regional help with traffic congestion it needs to be included in this next ballot measure.

However, the city’s explanations didn’t satisfy many of the audience members. At one point they laughed sarcastically when city officials tried to assure them that the two possible rapid transit projects on the CKC wouldn’t wreck the interim trail. During the question and answer segment, some residents questioned the feasibility of a BRT on the CKC and how it would be able to cross intersections every few minutes, along with the logistics involved for constructing it. Others also questioned why the BRT was being promoted now but hadn’t been as promoted when the city had approached residents about buying the corridor. Triplett replied that because Sound Transit decides what type of rapid transit would go in, if at all, they chose to focus on what they could build, such as the interim trail. Concerning actual construction, Brown stated that it would most likely be done in stages, requiring the corridor be closed at certain points, though the actual logistics really depend on what goes on the trail.

However, city officials also said that property along the corridor wouldn’t be impacted unless the owners had built within Sound Transit’s easement.

In addition to Sound Transit’s easement for rapid transit, there is also a freight easement required by federal law.