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Traffic engineer says City Hall can accommodate 12 off‑site parking stalls; warns of PM delays at Ballinger/Bothell intersection
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Summary
Traffic consultant Timothy Harris testified his midday counts showed 22 stalls available at City Hall on sampled weekend days and recommended 22 total spaces for the Lakefront Park (10 on‑site, 12 off‑site). He also said an F‑rated approach at Ballinger/Bothell could see delays over a minute during PM peak with project growth factored in.
A traffic engineer testifying in the Lakefront Park open‑record hearing told the examiner March 4 that off‑site parking at City Hall can accommodate the 12 stalls proposed in the park plan, and he explained the traffic analyses underpinning the recommendation.
"There are a total of 40 parking stalls on the property," Harris said, citing a three‑day midday count (May 30–June 1) used to build Exhibit 56. He testified that across those sample days about 18 stalls were occupied at midday and 22 were available on average, which he said justified recommending 12 off‑site stalls at City Hall to meet the park's needs.
Harris said his final recommendation for the park was 22 spaces total — 10 on‑site at the park and 12 off‑site at City Hall — and that the on‑site plan includes three ADA‑compliant stalls to meet minimum Access Board/ADA guidance. "A minimum of 1 [van accessible stall] would be required for a facility that has up to 25 spots," he said, adding the proposed three on‑site ADA stalls exceed that minimum.
The consultant also explained the methodology: counts were captured during a weekend mid‑day in summer to reflect recreational use, and he relied on ITE trip‑generation guidance and a 0.5% growth factor derived from a previous Lake Forest Park study. He acknowledged the city did not ask his team to start a separate Beach Drive analysis; "we were asked to put together a scope of services to do further analysis of Beach Drive, and we were asked to not start that," Harris testified, saying that work was not under contract.
Harris identified a potential traffic concern on the lakeside leg at the Bothell Way (State Route 522) / Ballinger Way intersection (the Beach Drive approach). He testified the approach meets an F‑level of service standard when measured as PM peak approach delay (98.9 seconds existing, forecast to 107 seconds with the project in 2027) and noted signal timing is controlled by WSDOT.
On comparisons used to set parking rates, Harris defended using Bellevue waterfront parks and Logboom Park as comparators while acknowledging differences: Logboom has roughly 50 stalls and proximity to the Burke‑Gilman Trail that changes its function and parking demand. He conceded that overflow parking on Beach Drive was not modeled—"that is not something that was within the scope of services requested to be provided"—and said the design includes regulatory signing and no‑parking designations in the right‑of‑way to reduce spillover impacts.
Counsel and the hearing continued to probe scope, assumptions and whether reciprocal or dedicated parking agreements at City Hall should be formalized as permit conditions; Harris said a prior hearing examiner condition for Waterfront Preserve committed the city to dedicate parking at City Hall and that a similar approach likely would be recorded or conditioned for this project.
The examiner put several exhibits into the record throughout the traffic testimony, including Exhibit 56 (the City Hall counts) and Exhibit 16 (table excerpts from guidance on ADA parking). The traffic discussion continued into cross‑examination on methodology, comparator selection and assumptions about future driver behavior.
