As a nationally recognized safety expert, I find it odd that recent articles concerning the 32nd Street barricade removal have not really added up the total city taxpayer costs to provide prudent safety mitigation.
Based on my understanding, the costs to mitigate some of the serious safety risks or issues associated with vehicle volume, speed or pedestrian risks before the 32nd Street barricade can be removed, are in the $250,000 to $350,000 range. This should clear up any misinformation related to those arguing that this matter is nothing more than simply taking the barricades down. There are several barricades within the city where wise safety mitigations will get really expensive.
The NE 42nd Street Opticom emergency barricade is apparently the next barricade to undergo “the process.” Simple mitigation approaches applied for the 32nd Street barricade aren’t necessarily a viable option for the neighborhoods of Timberline, Timberline Park, Waterbrook, and Hidden Ridge. The risks and possible mitigation efforts associated with these very unusual neighborhoods, such as very steep grade, and banked the wrong way turns, are impossible to cost effectively retrofit.
To be fair, because unincorporated King County could not adequately plan, design, address or communicate certain barricade issues to the public, the City of Sammamish and its taxpayers now have to deal with this inherited mess. It will be interesting to see how the city’s process handles the many deceptions from those few arguing to remove this barricade.
Assumptions that all neighborhood streets are alike, dismissal of key important leveraging safety issues unique to these neighborhoods, bogus mileage saving claims, or ineffective mitigation proposals won’t pass closer muster by the neighborhoods or the city’s taxpayers.
Quite frankly, simple and cheap mitigation attempts won’t work here. Leaving the NE 42nd Street Opticom emergency barricade alone is a very reasonable option. And don’t we all have better things to spend our time and money on?
Richard B. Kuprewicz, Sammamish
