Snoqualmie residents have an opportunity to learn more about the city’s RiverWalk Project at an upcoming open house on Thursday, December 5th from 6:30-8PM at City Hall.
Project designers Northwest Hydraulic Consultants (NHC) and the Berger Partnership, along with City staff, will present trail and roadway designs and then the public has a chance to give input.
The specific purpose of the open house is for the public to review conceptual designs under consideration that would affect roadway configurations, trail options, and bank stabilization efforts at the SE River Street and Park Avenue SE intersection.
Three potential road and trail design for Park Ave [between between River Street and Park Street] will be viewed that include keeping the existing two-lane road intact; changing it to a one-lane road; or closing the roadway to vehicles and making it pedestrian-only.
The Riverwalk Master Plan identifies the Park Street area a ‘High Density Restoration Area,’ with the goal being to remove residences deemed to be high flood risk and re-naturalize, stabilize the river bank. The city has bought multiple homes along the river on Park Street and Park Ave over the past five years and begun this “re-naturalization” process.
Per the plan, the stretch of Park Street between Meadowbrook Way and Riverview Park will become an open space area with a pavilion/viewpoint structure and the Riverwalk trail running through it, with the possibility of Park Street becoming a future one-way street to accommodate a portion of the roadway repurposed as a paved section of the Riverwalk. From Riverview Park, trails and a boardwalk are planned through the downtown area to Sandy Cove Park.
The neighborhood along Park Ave will be impacted by the Riverwalk re-design and the open house is a chance for residents to provide feedback to city officials. City staff and project designers will then work to finalize plans with stakeholders throughout 2020.
The city said construction is projected to begin in 2021. Bank stabilization project elements are funded by the King County Flood Control District.
The Snoqualmie Riverwalk Master Plan was accepted in 2015 and is included in the city’s Capital Improvement Plans.
You can learn more about the RiverWalk project in an earlier story HERE
