City to complete environmental analysis of Missing Link

In response to an April 16 ruling by the King County Superior Court, the Seattle Department of Transportation announced April 28 that it will conduct an environmental review of the Burke-Gilman Trail’s future alignment along Shilshole Avenue Northwest.

Because the Superior Court’s ruling upholding eight of the nine issues regarding the existing environmental assessment, the Department of Transportation opted to complete the additional evaluation instead of appealing the decision, according to a Department of Transportation press release.

The city seeks to complete the Burke-Gilman Trail by building a trail segment, known as the Missing Link, from 11th Avenue Northwest to the Ballard Locks.

Though the department had previously reviewed the environmental impact of an interim alignment along Ballard Avenue Northwest, the court ruled that the department also needed to study the future alignment on Shilshole Avenue from 17th Avenue Northwest to Northwest Vernon Place.

This additional work is estimated to take up to six months and its final form will be determined once the environmental review is underway.

While this will provide the city with additional information about the future alignment, no decision has been made about whether to construct the future trail segment at this time, according to the press release.

After the April 16 ruling, David Hiller, advocacy director for Cascade Bicycle Club, said he wanted to pressure the city to complete the entire stretch of the trail on Shilshole Avenue once the study is complete without the interim trail on Ballard Avenue.

The ruling came from a March 19 hearing between the City of Seattle and the representatives of Ballard industries, including Salmon Bay Sand and Gravel, the Ballard Chamber of Commerce, Ballard Oil, The Ballard Interbay Northend Manufacturing and Industrial Center, the North Seattle Industrial Coalition and the Seattle Marine Business Coalition.

That hearing stemmed from a June 15 lawsuit filed by the industrial groups challenging the city’s decision not to conduct a State Environmental Protection Act review on the Missing Link.

Once completed, the Burke-Gilman Trail will create a regional trail system running unobstructed through Seattle, to Issaquah via the Sammamish River Trail and the East Lake Sammamish Trail.