One Question, One Point, One Action: Bike lanes in Lake Forest Park

One Question, One Point, One Action -- a monthly article where a Lake Forest Park resident asks LFP Councilmember Tracy Furutani one question, and councilmember Tracy will highlight one point from a recent council meeting and one action we as a community can take.

If you have a question you would like to ask Tracy, email your question here: resident.of.lfp@gmail.com

This month we are lucky to hear from a 6th-Grader at Kellogg Middle School who lives in Lake Forest Park and likes to bike.

One Question

LFP- Kellogg- 6th Grader: Hi Tracy, I was wondering if the council was in the process of doing anything addressing the lack of bike lanes in Lake Forest Park. 

Bike lanes are very important because they encourage biking, skating, skateboarding and other climate friendly activities, but there aren't that many in LFP. Thanks!

Tracy: Thanks for the question! I like to bike too and try to bike whenever I can. I work at North Seattle College, and I try to ebike to work once a month, but it is not easy because you have to be a little brave and comfortable with a certain amount of risk to try to get to the intersection of NE 145th and 15th NE (Goodwill Corner). There are not many bike boulevards between Town Center and there!

This feeds into the narrative of LFP needing a “real” Interurban Trail to Burke-Gilman Trail connector for non-motorized vehicles and walkers.

To answer your question about more bike lanes in LFP, that issue is one of the council's priorities this year. LFP residents have expressed their desire for safer options for walking, running, biking, skating and so forth because, as you point out, they are climate-friendly and encourage good health (both physical and mental).

With the voters not approving Proposition 1 last November, the challenge will be to pay for these improvements. For instance, a quarter-mile of sidewalk costs approximate a million dollars to build.

Thus, the council will be exploring how safe areas for pedestrians and bicyclists and skaters can be paid for using ideas generated by the Parks Board and the newly-forming Climate Committee. 

Both of those bodies are comprised of volunteer LFP residents who want to make the city a better place. They come from every corner of the city, and from every walk of life. So I'm hoping that we will come up with the money needed to get this city the sidewalks, walkways, cycle lanes and other improvements that will make all residents' lives better and help fight climate change!

We can certainly chat about this more if you want.

Take care, Tracy

One Point:

I promised to work to build a Climate Action Plan for Lake Forest Park during my campaign. At the last Council meeting, we introduced and interviewed five people who applied to serve on a proposed Climate Committee. 

They were Sarah Phillips, Julian Anderson, Brian Saunders, Anne Udaloy, and Tamara Erickson. At our next Council meeting on Thursday, four more community members will be introduced and interviewed: Miriam Bertram, Dana Campbell, Jessica Cote and Linda Holman. 

If the Climate Committee resolution passes the Council, the committee members will decide on a meeting schedule, which will be publicized through the city website. I hope when the date is set, many of you will attend the inaugural meeting!

One Action:

In order for the city and residents of Lake Forest Park to do our part in helping King County reach its greenhouse gas reduction goal of 50% by 2030*, it will mean that all of us will need to work together. 

Of course, corporations and other large institutions shoulder the most in terms of needing to reduce their carbon usage, but we as individuals have a role as well. The "one action," then, would be to do something - big or small. 

For example, stop driving one day during the week, or call your state representatives and tell them your climate concerns. Turn your thermostat down by a degree or two, or wash your clothes in cold water. 

These simple actions do make a difference because, in addition to any greenhouse gas reduction, it focuses your attention on the positive difference you can make in reducing our city's total carbon footprint. * (50% off a 2007 baseline)

NOTE: In this interview, Tracy is speaking on behalf of himself, not on behalf of the LFP City Council or the city of LFP.

Next Virtual Regular-Business City Council meeting:

Thursday, February 24, 2022 at 7pm

https://www.cityoflfp.com/calendar.aspx?CID=14

Zoom Link to the City Calendar. When the agenda packet has been posted, there will be an agenda link on the calendar item:

https://www.cityoflfp.com/Calendar.aspx?EID=2205&month=2&year=2022&day=24&calType=0