2010/03/31 Council Agenda Packet

at the east end, a mound with a spiral path garners the most support and is most cost effective; an alternative is a spiral ramp, which occupies a small footprint, but is a structural solution with potentially higher construction cost. The west end configuration is planned as a ramp extending parallel to the current road alignment, ending at the sidewalk on the north side of South 2" Avenue, with a secondary path curving north into Lowell Neighborhood Park. The new 41st Street overcrossing will provide the Riverfront Development with its primary road access. A roundabout will direct vehicular traffic north to the retail development planned for the Landfill site and south to the Simpson Pad residential development. A major street in Everett, 41st Street crosses Interstate 5 and connects to the transit center and Central Business District. The ramped overcrossing has dedicated bike lanes and pedestrian sidewalks along its full length. The existing 36th Street will provide the major north end connection to the site, where the current city street grid meets the sinuous retail "Main Street" proposed by the private developer. Planned improvements by the private developer for non-motorized traffic on the south side of 36th Street will include a sidewalk and bike lane, allowing for direct and safe connection to the city's 3-Acre Park. Fire Access Code requirements for fire and emergency vehicle access routes are significant constraints on the planning of the Riverfront Development site. A construction access road adjacent to and south of the 41st Street overcrossing will provide secondary fire and emergency vehicle access to the Simpson Pad. Fire safety code requires greater separation between access points than this location allows, necessitating a third fire access. The master plan places this tertiary access at Lowell Riverfront Park, where emergency vehicles, in the event of a catastrophic emergency, could use the BNSF Railway right-of-way for northbound passage to the Simpson Pad. As illustrated in the trail hierarchy plan, fire and emergency vehicles would exit the railroad property and turn east into the residential development on a new road, one built atop a berm that will separate wetland drainage basins. This segment of emergency vehicle roadbed can be included within a broad, reinforced multimodal trail, routinely used as a pedestrian and bicycle path, but available for fire trucks and emergency vehicles if needed. Trails Multipurpose trails are an important part of the Public Amenities Master Plan. The Riverfront Development site will provide an extensive network of trails at the completion of the project, in furtherance of the city of Everett's intent to provide opportunities for recreation and increased Snohomish River views and access. This expanded access is also in support of the City Council's adopted Parks & Recreation Strategic Plan. Most of the current trail alignments will be retained and new trail segments, and new interconnections, will be added. The Public Amenities Master Plan anticipates that the pr o osed trails will connect the larger site 'to the public rX, amenities and public-use features within the private fx v • h'~ development. The con-fplex of trails and public-use trA - spaces will tie together the Riverfront Development site and will serve to integrate its widely vatted site uses. The master plan proposes a trail hierarchy of narrow to • " broad pathways. The narrowest trails, at 4 to' 8 feet wide, t are appropriate to walking and jogging, and will have soft surfacing and alignments which follow winding routes that may rise and fall with site grades. Trails 8 to 10 feet wide Example of a paved tail that can support fire will be more durably surfaced, either with asphalt or with and emergency vehicle access with a wider, crushed rock, and may have potentially curvilinear stabilized shoulder. 26 Riverfront Development Public Amenities Nosier Plan 63