The Fall City Community Association wishes to express its concerns over the loss of access to the Snoqualmie Valley Trail via Southeast 39th Place due to the recent sale of property through which the access road crosses, and the actions of the new landowner. Residents in Fall City and trail users from throughout King County have used the 39th Place access road for years. Loss of access to the trail would be a serious blow to the access of one of King County’s regional parks, the Snoqualmie Valley Trail.
The 39th Place access road is the sole connection between the Fall City Park and the Snoqualmie Valley Trail. There is substantial parking at the Fall City Park for trail users including hikers, runners, bicyclists and equestrians. Trail users access the Snoqualmie Valley Trail by crossing State Route 203 at the crosswalk installed by the Washington Department of Transportation specifically for access to the trail, continuing on 39th Place, and then onto the gravel access road, which terminates at the Snoqualmie Valley Trail.
Trail users have been exploring this area since 1911, when the Fall City Milwaukee Railroad Station created what is now known as Southeast 39th Place. Freight and mail services used this road as a connection between Fall City and the train stop.
Later, an unofficial dump was accessed from this road; long-time residents still refer to it as the dump road. In the 1970s, the Milwaukee Railroad went out of business, the tracks were torn up and the right-of-way came under the jurisdiction of King County Parks, later to become the Snoqualmie Valley Trail.
As the Fall City community has always stated, and we now understand King County has uncovered archived history documenting this, the access road is a public right-of-way. We therefore request that King County take any and all necessary actions to restore and maintain legal access to the Snoqualmie Valley Trail via 39th Place.
As this issue is very important to the Fall City community, we respectfully request that you keep us informed.
Timothy Marshall, Fall City Community Association President
