Lake Ave West residents petition city to prevent access from Heritage Park to Lake Washington

By on May 27, 2010 in Archived, Featured Slideshow, Headlines

A group of 35 homeowners who live along Lake Avenue West are petitioning the City of Kirkland not to implement construction of steps leading from Heritage Park down the hill to the water where the City has a small lakefront park. Lake Avenue West is a dead end street which begins near Heritage Hall where Central Way and Market Street meet.

Heritage Park is a large multi-use park with tennis courts, children’s toys, parking, and lots of open space. The park has a steep bank along the west side where the City plans to build a stairway to provide access to a small lakefront park at the end of Lake Avenue West. Currently, the waterfront park is under utilized  and few people use it due in large part to its location – on a dead end street.

The petition will be presented to the City Council as agenda item 6-c at the Tuesday, June 1 Kirkland City Council meeting. In part, the petition reads,

We, the Citizens of the City of Kirkland, and residents of Lake Ave West, Kirkland Washington, petition the City of Kirkland not to implement the construction of  steps that would join Heritage Park to the small park at the north end of Lake Avenue West, now, or in the future. We believe that it would compromise the safety of the residents from vandalism, thefts, and increased drug activity that is currently a nuisance at night, on Lake Avenue West…

You may download and read the entire petition by following this link.


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About Rob Butcher

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  • Jim Hitter

    Hold on there folks. It says here that this is a dead end street, but…… Lake Ave. West is a dead end street for vehicles only, but is a through street for pedestrians. In fact, there are plenty of walkers and runners who access Waverly Beach Park via Lake Ave. West. This proposed construction merely adds a small but important variation to the pedestrian possibilities in Kirkland.

    The notion of exclusivity that the property owners assert is nonsense. More (not less) access via public rights-of-way or easements are needed to make Kirkland a walkable and healthy city!!

  • Jim Hitter

    Rob,

    The residents of Lake Avenue West don't want “others” treading on their exclusive preserve, This is obvious from their opposition to the access stairway from Heritage Park. But, it's also evident in the way that they (with City concurrence) have managed to have parking banned on “their” street. I've always wondered who in that community has so much sway with City Hall that they could convince the City to not allow parking on the BOTH sides of a wide street. This area would be particularly valuable for parking because of its proximity to the downtown core. (Maybe even with meters!!)

  • Joie Goodwin

    I believe the stairway should be constructed. The public deserves access to that road and we always want to keep the walking access between Waverly and Heritage park open. If there is a drug problem, it should be addressed immediately and handled like all other drug situations. I will not ask for 7th Ave.West be closed to the public if there are drug problems. Lets think of the future and the pleasures that Kirkland has to offer to the public.

    Make the stairway.

  • Cami Keyes

    I would venture to guess, that given their druthers, many condo owners along Lake Washington Blvd would prefer not to have public walkways across the lake side of their property. Kirkland in unique in how much focus they have put on ensuring public access to parks and the lake.

    It sounds like the homeowners have valid concerns, but they can be overcome with lighting, neighborhood watch, increased patrols, etc. It's not a reason to limit public access more than it already has been on Lake St. West.

    I wonder how heavily used it will be anyway as heritage park is not heavily used often during the week (nor is Waverly Beach) and still people would need to know to look for the stairs and want to take them.

    I agree, the city needs to continue with their plans as the benefits are much greater for so many, and the concerns are negligible for a very limited few.

  • Kellie Jordan

    For a community that holds it walkability, waterfront parks and accessibility to those parks near and dear, I say shame on you Lake Avenue West residents. If there are problems with vandalism and drug use in the park call 911, that is the proper course of action, not signing a pettion to limit access to a waterfront park that all Kirkland residents own. This city has long prided itself on its trails that connect neighborhoods, parks and residents. Your frivolous and elitiist petition wastes city council and staff time. Embrace your neighbors, don't shut them out.

  • http://kirklandviews.com Rob Butcher

    Hi Jim,
    While I am not persuaded by aguments from some claiming elitism, “us versus them” or class warfare, I do find your claim about parking to be interesting. I have heard others in town express similar sentiments. I too find it odd that we have a street in very close proximity to Marina Park which, at first glance, seems to be treated differently from other streets nearby. If this is indeed the case, I would like to know why. Perhaps there is a simple and logical reason why parking is permitted only on one side of Lake Ave West. If not, then all it means is that someone was successful in persuading officials to change the rules to their liking. I am quite certain that if people cared about the issue enough to flex their combined political muscle, the situation would be reversed.
    Thank you for your comments.

  • Crackheadjoe

    this is going to be great! I cant tell you how many times I wanted to smoke crack at that park only to find out that I would have to walk all the way from marina park. These stairs going nearly straight up are going to be so much easier! Thankyou crack fairy….thank you

  • Pam

    Wow, so I guess we should call you , The City of Lake Avenue West now huh? Shame on you!

  • Bonnie Fletcher

    If the residents of Lake Avenue West really want to stop people from using this small waterfront park, why don't they pool their money and purchase that small piece of land from the city so it can truly, legally be their own? It's probably only worth a million or two and I'm sure property owners who can afford to pay those type of property taxes could foot the bill especially divided thrity-five ways.

  • Guest

    More NIMBY ism.

  • Guest

    More NIMBY ism.

    Parks often are used by NON-RESIDENTS. That's why we build them.

    Call the police if you think there are drug users or illegal activities.

  • http://kirklandviews.com Rob Butcher

    Hi Bonnie,
    Well said. Individuals wishing to reduce the value of someone else's property (in this case, prevent the planned use the city's land to improve the public's access to a waterfront park) should compensate the owner for the lost value. The petition would only benefit those who live near the waterfront park while limiting value to everyone else.
    Thank you for your comments.

  • Per-Ola

    While I might understand the their stance (who really wants strangers running around), I have a hard time accepting it. These stairs will make a great addition to a great park. And they might even add a benefit for the owners who live deep down on Lake Street, by providing an easy access up to Heritage Park.

    I also live on a dead end street. Initially it was truly “dead”, but later we opened up a trail on a blackberry overgrown portion of a city owned right-of-way. This portion is now part of the city's walkable routes and used daily by many strolling through the hood (dogs, walkers, runners, baby strollers, bird watchers, etc). Occasionally we do get the rare motorcycle or motorized scooter, but so far it has not been any problems.
    With the (steep) steps down from Heritage Park, I foresee even less issues, considering that Lake Street is already a “walkable” route and these steps will not add much, if anything, to the current through-traffic, but add access to a great little piece of city owned gem on the water.

  • Brian

    While I agree with the idea of access for pedestrians, and this staircase, from what I can tell in the KingCo property records on line, the City's public right of way ends at the vehicle turnaround at the small lakefront park. From there, the lot property lines start out from beyond the shoreline and continue unbroken up the hill to Waverly Way. There are no obvious easements through the rest of the lots to the north even though I've walked through there also for 20+ years. There is one small easement between the two lots connected by the gate, but it doesn't extend south to Lake Ave West's turnaround. To the north, all the property lines in the 400 block and on 5th Ave W are also unbroken from the shoreline to Waverly; it appears that 5th Ave W is a Private Road in that section
    My point is that even though there's been public usage for many years, there's no obviously recorded public right of way nor recorded easement for pedestrians across those lots. Since it's been in use for longer than 10 years, there may be a prescriptive easement, but the owners (in theory) could try to block public access between the turnaround and Waverly Beach and the rest of us would have to prove a right to use the path to a court. Let's hope they don't.