Traffic Swirls Around Urban-Village Study -- $380 Million Kenmore Project Gets Public Hearing

KENMORE

Near-impossible traffic congestion has become a trademark for the arterials running through Bothell and Kenmore, but, say some residents, it is not enough reason to halt the $380 million urban village proposed for a 50-acre site along Lake Washington's northeast shore.

"I think we have to look beyond the problems to the promise of Lakepointe," said Dick Taylor, a member of the citizens advisory committee organized by King County Councilwoman Maggi Fimia.

"The area is just an eyesore now, and it's been used as a garbage dump. I see it as a source of revenue for Kenmore and a positive focus. With growth, we're going to have traffic problems no matter what."

Taylor, who is running for City Council in the newly incorporated Kenmore, was one of nearly 80 people who gathered last night at Bothell's Northshore Senior Center for a public hearing on Lakepointe's environmental-impact study.

He conceded that the traffic surrounding the residential and commercial development would continue to be clogged during rush hours - even with certain strategies and improvements designed to ease traffic.

But the opportunity for retail and commercial revenue, new homes and 21 acres of open space, parks and pedestrian walkways and trails was something that shouldn't be passed up, he says.

Two years in the making, the environmental study analyzed the effects of such a large-scale project, which will have an estimated 1,200 residential units, 439,000 square feet of retail and commercial space, including a hotel and multiscreen cinema, and about 206,000 square feet of office space.

Jane Hallock Paige, who owns Pioneer Towing, and Gary Seargeant of Lakepointe, are the owners and developers of the property that had been home to Kenmore Pre-Mix. The lot, situated at the mouth of the Sammamish River and the northern corner of Lake Washington, is bordered by Highway 522 to its north and 68th Avenue Northeast - an intersection known for standstill traffic.

In the proposal are plans to build enhanced transit stops on both the north and south sides of Highway 522, a five-lane overpass that circumvents the busy intersection and a promise to contribute money to build a pedestrian bridge over the arterial.

"We're not building with the idea of building traffic relief for the community," said Mike Gleason, a Lakepointe developing consultant who hopes to see 600 residential units and 500,000 square feet of retail development completed by the summer of 2000. "We are improving the local circulation. But traffic is bad and will remain bad with this project or not."

But not all were satisfied with the impact report, saying the predicted effects of the development are too vague.

"The purpose of an environmental-impact statement is to provide information and analysis," said Ann Aagaard, a member of the community watchdog group, Friends of Northshore. "It hasn't answered any of the specifics . . . how much fill they'll be excavating . . ."

"With only one convenient passage between the northern and southern parts of this city, we're threatening to make traffic busier and split the city into two parts," said another resident.

Keiko Morris' phone message number is 206-464-3214. Her e-mail address is: kmor-new@seatimes.com