The following notes contain a good description of the traffic problems and lack of planning surrounding the huge housing build-outs in Black Diamond (ie Ten Trails & other Oak Point housing developments).
Peter is the prime worker leading efforts to identify and present to the county and south-end cities the traffic problems, current and future, associated with those developments.
Don Huling, SCAR Board Member
Hi. I hope all is well. I thought I’d give you an update on the traffic-related issues related to the Black Diamond MPDs.
First, one comment on the Monday, August 16, 2021, “At Ten Trails, it’s 500 down, 4300 to go: Oakpointe’s two large housing developments and big-box retail destination are humming along” article (https://www.courierherald.com/news/at-ten-trails-its-500-down-4300-to-go/). There is a paragraph that states:
“And Oakpointe plans to spend around $75 million on regional transportation infrastructure improvements to make sure southeast King County can keep up with it all. Those projects are scheduled through at least 2031.”
Yes, there is money being spent by OakPointe, but the agreement with the City calls for much Grant money (read that as “taxpayers”) to be sought for many improvements. In other words, no money currently exists for some of the needed improvements. So, OakPointe is not “mak(ing) sure southeast King County can keep up with it all.”
To make matters worse, we are now ~10 years into the 25-year 2011 Development Agreements between OakPointe (then called YarrowBay) and the City, and the traffic coming to and from the south of the city has grown quite a bit—adding to the overall traffic congestion that already exists. This is all before another ~5,500 homes (and commercial) are built!
Plus, as we discussed briefly during our summer hike with Tim, et.al., there has never been a complete Traffic-Demand Model (TDM) and analysis exercise done for the entire MPDs. We cannot emphasize this point enough. During the 2009 Public Hearings on the MPD Permits and EISs before the city’s Hearing Examiner (HEX) it was clear that the TDM was grossly inadequate. So much so, that the HEX rejected all the traffic modeling and analyses and called for it to be redone (this is all documented in the HEX’s Recommendations in excruciating detail).
Unfortunately (for everyone but OakPointe) the HEX only makes recommendations (not decisions) on such Permit applications to the City Council. And, again unfortunately (for everyone but OakPointe) the City Council deferred such work until 850 building permits have been issued. This is all documented in detail in the MPD Permit Conditions of Approval (COAs)–especially COA 17a.
Now, ~10 years later, the MPDs slowly are approaching that 850 threshold—members of the Public eagerly have been waiting for this moment Consequently, back win the Summer the City added a task to its Task-Order Contract with its Traffic Consultant, Parametrix, to build the TDM. Parametrix currently is conducting that task and the City has told us deliverables are expected at the end of January. However, since the Parametrix work already has been delayed, we expect that date could slide further. The key to Parametrix’s work will be the assumptions the City has provided
That last point is crucial, since the City already had provided its Traffic Consultant for its 2015 Major 8-Year Comprehensive Plan Update, DKS Associates, with incorrect assumptions—the worst being 4 lanes on SR-169 all the way to Four-Corners (e.g., SR-516) in Maple Valley. The City’s 2015 Major 8-Year Comprehensive Plan Update (kicked off in April 2014) was Conditionally Certified in February 2020, partially because PSRC rejected that assumption because the difference between 2 and 4 lanes on SR-169 is enormous to commuters and directly influences all other routes in and out of the city—primarily King County unincorporated roads. BTW, full Certification of the City’s 2015 Major 8-Year Comprehensive Plan Update is still pending. [there are no typos in any of these dates.]
BOTTOM LINE: The planned transportation infrastructure in southeast King County (yes, the MPDs adversely will affect most of this region) will be grossly inadequate to support the full buildout (probably even half build-out) of the MPDs (actually, most of this transportation infrastructure already is inadequate even during normal commutes).
Peter Rimbos
Leader and Transportation Focal
Citizens’ Technical Action Team (TAT)