Sheridan Beach Residents Concerned About Proposed Park & Ride Nearby

Editor's note: The following piece was produced by the No Park & Ride in Sheridan Beach group. 

The city of Lake Forest Park has proposed a possible Park & Ride being designated in our residential community. Our neighbors on 41st are understandably concerned, as we all should be.

Sheridan Beach already absorbs a considerable amount of commuter parking, both in the Heights and along Beach and Shore Drive. We should not expect that these additional spaces will alleviate the problem many of us already deal with. Designating an official Park & Ride in a residential neighborhood sets a bad precedent for our community. We are encouraging neighbors to attend the city council meeting held at LFP City Hall this Thursday, August 23 at 7 p.m.

August 19, 2012 
Residents of Sheridan Beach: 
We wanted to immediately inform you of a commuter park and ride facility being proposed by 
the City of Lake Forest Park on the Northeast end of 41st Ave. NE (between 165th St. and Bothell 
Way/522). This park and ride is being positioned as a solution to alleviate an existing 
commuter parking problem on the street when in fact there is no such problem here. 
The residents of 41st Ave. NE were informed of this proposal on Tuesday of this week via a letter
from the City. Survey crews began officially exploring the property 
identified as the site for the park and ride on Friday. 
Obviously, we are extremely concerned about this proposal and are appalled by the lack of communication and consultation from the City. 

Negative impacts on the Sheridan Beach Community would include: 
1. Unwanted traffic congestion in a typically quiet community. Designating a Park & Ride area on 41st Ave NE will encourage additional commuters, which is likely to lead to overflow throughout the neighborhood and will not discourage parking above Bothell Way -- where commuter parking is actually an issue. 

2. Negative impact upon an important neighborhood greenbelt -- which is partially owned by Sheridan Beach. 

3. The potential to invite additional crime into the neighborhood. 41st Ave. has already  suffered from numerous car break-ins and even home invasion (as recently as last month). 

4. Compromised safety of the children and others who bike, skateboard and access the Burke Gillman Trail via 41st Ave. NE. This is going to greatly increase traffic flow turning at 165th, unsafely turning at 41st Ave, and right in front of a Community Club used widely by children in the neighborhood. 

5. Residents of 41st Ave. NE already deal with noise pollution from busy Bothell Way. This Park & Ride would only make a bad situation worse for residents of this street. 

6. Park and rides don’t belong in neighborhoods on small streets in single family neighborhoods. They belong in commercially zoned areas or on arterials. Why is the City Council setting a precedent of making our neighborhood streets into a solution for commuter parking? 
While these are our initial concerns and the residents of 41st Ave. will obviously be greatly  impacted if this facility is approved, this will have a far-reaching impact on the entire  neighborhood. Commuters drawn to the area who can’t find a space on our block will park where they can on other blocks nearby. 

WHAT CAN YOU DO? 
1. ATTEND THE CITY COUNCIL MEEITNG ON THURSDAY, AUG. 23: Please show your support by coming to and being prepared to voice your opposition of the project at the next LFP City Council meeting this Thursday. Location: LFP City Hall. 
2. EMAIL CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS: Please send email to LFP City Council members expressing 
your concerns. Email addresses: 
Jeff Johnson jjohnson@ci.lake-forest-park.wa.us 
Donald Fiene dfiene@cityoflfp.com 
Sandy Koppenol skoppenol@cityoflfp.com 
Tom French tfrench@ci.lake-forest-park.wa.us 
John Wright jwright@cityoflfp.com 
Robert Lee rlee@cityoflfp.com 
Mary Jane Goss mgoss@ci.lake-forest-park.wa.us 

3. INFORM YOUR FRIENDS & NEIGHBORS: Please help us spread the word of this proposed nightmare. As mentioned previously, the communication around this was solely limited to residents of 41st Ave. NE and 44th Ave. NE, which feels like a blatant attempt to undercommunicate 
the intentions of the City. 

Thank you in advance for your support and action. Please don’t hesitate to contact us at noparknrideinSB@gmail.com.