Seattle gets OK to build Burke-Gilman Trail's 'missing link' in Ballard

After months of appeals, the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) can finally begin construction on the "missing link" of the Ballard portion of the Burke-Gilman Trail, a Seattle hearing examiner ruled last week.

But before moving forward with the $14 million missing-link trail segment, the city most likely will wait to see if there will be another appeal.

And Josh Brower, an attorney for a group of local business owners called the Ballard Business Appellants, said that his clients will meet within the next week to determine if they will appeal. The group has been fighting the trail segment for most of the past decade.

"Until the city proposes a safe facility that doesn't threaten the maritime and industrial facilities that provide family-wage jobs to middle-income people, my clients have no choice but to continue to oppose the 'missing link' trail," Brower said.

Opponents have 21 days to appeal the hearing examiner's decision to King County Superior Court.

The hearing examiner ruled that the Shilshole Avenue Northwest portion of the "missing link" does not pose a significant environmental risk.

The ruling means the city will not have to conduct a full environmental-impact report for that section of the route, which runs along Shilshole Avenue Northwest between 17th Avenue Northwest and Northwest Vernon Place, and can move forward on its plans for the expanded trail. When that may happen is still undecided, however, said Rick Sheridan, communications manager for SDOT.

"We do fully expect that this will once again be appealed to the King County Superior Court. However, the city is eager to begin construction on a fully funded and fully designed missing-link segment," Sheridan said.

The missing-link portion of the trail would fill a gap of approximately 1.5 miles between 11th Avenue Northwest and the Ballard Locks on the Ship Canal. Once that portion of the trail is completed, the route would run all the way from Golden Gardens Park in Northwest Seattle to Kenmore.

Expansion of the trail has been stalled by lawsuits and appeals since 2003, the most recent of which were brought by the Ballard Business Appellants, concerned about the removal of parking spots on city-owned land and potentially unsafe traffic conditions caused by the trail.

"While we may support the trail in theory, there is a lot of concern about how we're going to be able to maintain a vibrant business district if we lose that much parking," said Beth Miller, executive director of the Ballard Chamber of Commerce and part of the Ballard Business Appellants.

SDOT estimated that up to 91 of 169 free on-street parking spaces could be lost along the trail. There are about 850 parking spaces within a two-block area along the Shilshole Avenue trail segment, according to DOT's analysis.

Chuck Ayers, executive director of the Cascade Bicycle Club, one of the parties in the appeal, called the hearing examiner's ruling a "victory for everyone who likes using trails throughout the city."

"The 'missing link' is a key component of our trail system," Ayers said. "If we want to get more people biking, we need separated paths like this."

Brower said that there are too many unanswered questions about traffic safety along the Shilshole Avenue segment. He said there are 55 industrial and road crossings within the 1.5-mile stretch that are used by personal vehicles, oil tanker trucks and eighteen-wheeler semi trucks.

Ayers, too, cited safety concerns, saying the existing route cyclists must access is one of the most dangerous areas for bikes in the city. "I'd like to move on and get onto the design stages so we can design something really safe," he said.

Of particular concern to bicyclists is the area where Shilshole Avenue crosses under the Ballard Bridge, the site of numerous bike accidents and subsequent lawsuits. Cliff Valentine, of AMC Cliffv's Marine Service, who has an office overlooking the intersection, estimated that one bicyclist crashes there each day.

"The accidents only happen on nice sunny days when people aren't paying attention," he said. "In the summertime, it's not uncommon for an ambulance or firetruck to come down once a week to clean someone up."

Amy Harris: 206-464-2212 or aharris@seattletimes.com