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Kenmore staff outline broad updates to Title 12 road standards, no council vote taken
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Summary
Engineering Director John Vicente presented proposed updates to Kenmore Municipal Code Title 12 and the city's road standards, describing changes to utility coordination, lighting, bike‑lane design and drainage; the council took no vote and staff will return with an ordinance.
Engineering Director John Vicente presented proposed updates to Kenmore Municipal Code Title 12 and the city’s road standards at a council meeting; the presentation was for discussion only and no council vote was taken.
Vicente told the council the packet contains numerous technical and editorial updates and that staff will return with an ordinance for formal adoption. "There will be no decision required from you tonight," he said at the opening of his presentation.
Key proposed changes include renaming the special use permit to a public use permit to avoid confusion with KMC Chapter 18, citing RCW 36.75 to clarify the city engineer reference, and using the National Joint Utilities Notification System as the city’s official notification method for utility coordination. The update also adds vegetation management requirements in utility safety zones and raises the exemption window for frontage improvements associated with single‑family replacement from 12 to 48 months.
Vicente described substantive edits to the road standards: pedestrian‑scale lighting tied to enhanced crossings (rectangular rapid flashing beacons); specification of the Illuminating Engineering Society standard for roadway lighting; a requirement for fog seals after new pavement placement where striping is absent; and that storm drainage systems generally must be removed rather than “abandoned in place,” with limited exceptions. He said the standards now direct bike lanes to be elevated and adjacent to sidewalks where feasible, moving cyclists out of the vehicular travel lane and into separated cycle tracks or elevated bike lanes.
The presentation included location‑specific guidance: potential future dedication and right‑of‑way needs to connect bike facilities on 60th Avenue (to match the Juanita bridge crossing), repurposing some parking lanes on NW 180th Avenue to create a continuous bike facility, and a proposed cycle track on portions of NE 180th from 60th east to 170th to improve north‑south nonmotorized connectivity. Vicente emphasized these are design standards meant to apply to future redevelopment or construction, not immediate construction orders.
Council members raised neighborhood safety and parking concerns. Mayor Herbig and others flagged speeding and pedestrian safety in the Up Lake neighborhood; Councilor Obertoes and Deputy Mayor O'Kane asked staff to consider parking impacts on 60th Avenue and to preserve resident parking where warranted. Several council members questioned the proliferation and placement of vertical delineators and signage; Vicente said the standards rely on national guidance (Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices) and local experience and that delineators would be used where warranted, not automatically at every location.
Vicente also described standard details intended to reduce long‑term maintenance issues downtown: expanded structural soil and larger tree pits to reduce sidewalk uplifting from roots; replacing painted buffer markings with profiled plastic for bike buffers; and a three‑hump speed‑calming standard more compatible with emergency vehicles. He said next steps are final edits and an ordinance seeking council approval in the coming weeks to months.
No formal action was taken at the meeting; staff will return with an ordinance and the updated standard documents for council adoption.
