County seeks input on solutions to trailhead suggestions; survey takers could win tickets to Marymoor Park concert
Published 8:30 am Friday, May 12, 2017
King County Parks and King County Metro is conducting an online survey to present three ideas to the community for improving access and easing congestion at some of its most popular backcountry trail parking lots.
The survey will help shape pilot services through Metro’s Community Connections program, a collaboration with local government and community partners. Previously known as the Alternative Services Demonstration Program, Community Connections focuses on cost-efficient solutions in areas that don’t have the infrastructure, density, or land use to support regular, fixed-route bus service.
The survey is at surveymonkey.com/r/i90trailheads and will be available until 5 p.m., Friday, May 26. Questions focus on how visitors get to select trailheads along the I-90 corridor – including King County’s Cougar Mountain Regional Wildland Park and Cougar-Squak Corridor Park, and state-managed Tiger Mountain and Mount Si recreational areas.
The proposed congestion solutions are:
· Establishing an “adopt-a-hiker” ride-sharing program that connects drivers with hikers and provides preferred parking for carpooling to trailheads;
· Creating a route with a flexible service area between the Issaquah Highlands park-and-ride and nearby trailheads; and
· Creating shuttle services to single trailheads from nearby leased parking lots.
The three concepts were developed by Metro and Parks staff based on feedback the county received from an online survey in late 2016. A community stakeholder group reviewed and commented on these concepts at their meeting last month.
Everyone who completes the anonymous and confidential survey will have the opportunity to be entered into a drawing for two free tickets to the concert of their choice at the 2017 Marymoor Park Concerts. Email addresses will be used only for the ticket drawing, and will not be kept as part of the collected survey data.
