-----Original Message-----
From: Brenner, Keri - Olympia [mailto:kbrenner@...]
Sent: Wednesday, May 30, 2007 3:12 PM
To: Wheeler, Blaine (DSHS/DCS)
Subject: FW: Chehalis Trail Gates replacement Project



-----Original Message-----
From: Donald Krupp [mailto:Kruppd@...]
Sent: Friday, May 25, 2007 3:58 PM
To: Jodi.Petersen
Cc: Kerry Hibdon; David Klumpp; Robert Macleod, Thurston Co.
Commissioner; Diane Oberquell, Thurston Co. Commissioner; Michael
Welter; Cathy Wolfe, Thurston Co. Commissioner; Jon W. Halverson;
Brenner, Keri - Olympia
Subject: Chehalis Trail Gates replacement Project


Dear Ms. Peterson,

On April 16, 2007, the Board of County Commissioners sent you a letter
proposing an action plan to replace gates with bollards along the
County's portions of the Chehalis Western and Yelm-Tenino Trails.  To
date, we've yet to receive an acknowledgement of receipt of the proposed
plan.  We are very anxious to commence work, but are reluctant to do so
untill and unless we receive formal approval of the proposed plan from
the Federal Highway Administration.  We would very much appreciate your
acknowledgement of receipt of our letter with an estimate of time as to
when we might expect hear that the proposed plan meets FHWA requirements
for ADA compliance.  This will allow us to plan an appropriate
construction schedule.

I would like to make you aware of a recent story on King 5 news is
Seattle regarding the Burke-Gilman Trail.  Apparently, trail user
conflicts there are resulting in numerous accidents due to speeding
cyclists.  This, of course, is what Thurston County hoped to avoid by
deploying the yellow chicane-style gates along the trail and I am
concerned that converting to bollards will result in many similar
problems here in Thurston County.  That being said, however, we do
intend to proceed with the bollard installation as required by FHWA,
upon your approval of our proposed plan.

http://www.king5.com/localnews/stories/NW_052007WABburkegilmanSW.8ae07d9
5.html

Speeding cyclists making Burke-Gilman trail dangerous

06:23 PM PDT on Sunday, May 20, 2007

ERIC WILKINSON / KING 5 News

A recent University of Washington survey found 78 percent of people
using the trail had either been in an accident, witnessed one, or had a
close call.

SEATTLE - On any given day, the Burke-Gilman Trail is filled with
cyclists, Rollerbladers and families out for a stroll.   But with more
people taking to the trail, there is less room for common courtesy,
especially from speeding cyclists.

"They go by too fast. They say 'on your left' but they're 20 yards past
you by the time you hear it," said Sean Elliott.

"A lot of them go really, really fast. I wish there was more of a path
than there is," said Christine Gilbertson.

In fact, a recent University of Washington survey found 78 percent of
people using the trail had either been in an accident, witnessed one, or
had a close call.

"It's just the warning factor. Sometimes they don't give you enough
warning and you get sideswiped a little bit," said Falyn Sokol.

So just how fast are some of these cyclists going? We grabbed our trusty
radar gun to find out.  The speed limit on the trail is 15 mph, 10 mph
in some spots, but we routinely found people going 20, 26 - even 30 mph
- double the speed deemed safe for the trail.

"People do go too fast and they're not ready for a child to dart out in
front of them," said David Dion.

Seattle and King County do occasionally patrol the trail for violators,
but for the most part users police themselves. And while much of the
attention is put on cyclists, others, such as skaters and walkers who
drift into the middle of the trail, share the blame.

"I think there's always going to be inconsiderate bikers and pedestrians
so you just have to slow down when you're cycling and be cautious when
you're walking," said Arminda Phillips. "You have to be careful, but you
have to be aware of who else is using the trail at the same time as you


I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Regards,
Don Krupp
Chief Administrative Officer


Donald D. Krupp
Chief Administrative Officer
360-786-5440
kruppd@...