File #: 2025-0147    Version:
Type: Ordinance Status: Passed
File created: 5/27/2025 In control: Transportation, Economy, and Environment Committee
On agenda: Final action: 7/1/2025
Enactment date: Enactment #: 19951
Title: AN ORDINANCE establishing the Locally Preferred Alternative including the alignment and station locations of the RapidRide K Line.
Sponsors: De'Sean Quinn, Claudia Balducci
Indexes: RapidRide
Attachments: 1. 2025-0147 Amendment 1, 2. A. K Line Locally Preferred Alternative Report, 3. B. K Line Station Locations Exhibit, Updated July 1, 2025, 4. B. K Line Station Locations Exhibit, 5. 2025-0147 Transmittal Letter, 6. 2025-0147 K Line Community Engagement Summary Phase 1 (Dec 2019), 7. 2025-0147 K Line Community Engagement Summary Phase 2 (Jul 2024), 8. 2025-0147 K Line Community Engagement Summary Phase 3 (Apr 2025), 9. 2025-0147 Letters of Support, 10. 2025-0147 Fiscal Note, 11. 2025-0147 Legislative Review Form, 12. 2025-0147_SR_KLine-LPA, 13. ATT2. Amdt1_Stmt of Facts K Line bar, 14. 2025-0147_Revised_SR_KLine-LPA
Staff: Bourguignon, Mary

Title

AN ORDINANCE establishing the Locally Preferred Alternative including the alignment and station locations of the RapidRide K Line.

Body

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

1.  Via Ordinance 18449, enacted February 1, 2017, the King County council adopted the Metro Connects long-range transit service and capital plan, which identified an expanded network of bus rapid transit lines, also known as RapidRide lines, for future implementation, including the RapidRide K Line connecting Kirkland and Bellevue.

2.  Via Motion 14956, passed September 18, 2017, the council approved a report on the implementation of new RapidRide lines as required by Ordinance 18409, Section 132, Proviso P5, titled Implementation of New RapidRide Lines/Metro Connects RapidRide Expansion, which identified the K Line as one of the next-generation RapidRide lines to be implemented.

3.  Via Ordinance 18835, enacted November 14, 2018, the council adopted, and the executive signed the 2019-2020 Biennial Budget Ordinance, which included capital project 1134292 to implement the RapidRide K Line.

4.  Via Ordinance 19210, enacted November 30, 2020, the council adopted, and the executive signed the 2021-2022 Biennial Budget Ordinance, which removed project 1134292 from the capital improvement program and paused all planning and development efforts for the RapidRide K Line due to the impacts of the pandemic on the Metro transit department.

5.  Via Ordinance 19367, enacted December 15, 2021, the council adopted an update to the Metro Connects long-range transit service and capital plan, which stated that the K Line had been prioritized for investment as one of the next RapidRide lines to be implemented and identified the K Line in the Metro Connects interim network maps as beginning operations in the 2030s.

6.  Via Motion 16153, passed July 5, 2022, the council approved a report on efforts to restart planning for the RapidRide lines that had been paused in response to the pandemic as required by Ordinance 19210, Section 113, Proviso P1, as amended by Ordinance 19364, Section 86, Proviso P1, titled RapidRide Restart Report, which stated that the Metro transit department had resumed some planning efforts for the K Line during 2021, including alternatives analysis and design.

7.  Via Ordinance 19546, enacted November 29, 2022, the council adopted, and the executive signed the 2023-2024 Biennial Budget Ordinance, which restored capital project 1134292 to the capital improvement program to implement the RapidRide K Line.

8.  Via Motion 16659, passed September 3, 2024, the council approved the RapidRide prioritization plan, as required by Ordinance 19367, Section 6.B, and Ordinance 19546, Section 114, Proviso P4, which stated that the RapidRide K Line had been included in the Metro transit department's capital improvement program, with delivery planned for as early as 2030, and which outlined a potential timeline for community engagement, design, planning, environmental review, grant applications, and construction for the K Line.

9.  Via Ordinance 19861, enacted December 2, 2024, the council adopted, and the executive signed the 2025 Annual Budget Ordinance, which included additional appropriation for capital project 1134292 to implement the RapidRide K Line.

10.  As documented in the RapidRide K Line Community Engagement Summary Reports, the Metro transit department conducted community engagement concerning the proposed alignment and station locations for the RapidRide K Line in the communities in which it will operate, including Kirkland and Bellevue.  As part of the community engagement, the Metro transit department consulted the cities of Kirkland and Bellevue to accommodate city priorities regarding station locations and proposed right-of-way improvements, street and facility design, and proposed transit priority treatments, consistent with bus rapid transit concepts.

11.  The RapidRide K Line will apply to receive grant funding from the Federal Transit Administration's Small Starts grant program, with the goal of entering into a Small Starts grant agreement.

12.  The Federal Transit Administration requires that Small Starts grant-funded projects operate transit service at the level specified in the grant agreement for a period of five years.  The period of performance for such service level commitments is at the discretion of the Federal Transit Administration and is a prescribed condition of receiving federal financial assistance.

                     BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF KING COUNTY:

                     SECTION 1.  The RapidRide K Line Locally Preferred Alternative that establishes the alignment and general station locations, substantially as set forth in Attachment B to this ordinance, is hereby approved to allow design and construction of RapidRide infrastructure and facilities design and construction to proceed.  As design of the RapidRide K Line proceeds, the executive is asked to include strategies, such as roadway improvements, access enhancements, signage, and wayfinding, to facilitate safe and functional connections for people who walk, bicycle, or roll between RapidRide stations and the Eastrail, including the Cross Kirkland Corridor.

                     SECTION 2.  Before implementation of RapidRide K Line service, the executive shall notify King County council and the cities of Kirkland and Bellevue of any substantial changes to station locations. The notice to the King County council shall be filed in the form of a paper original and an electronic copy with the clerk of the council, who shall retain the original and provide an electronic copy with the clerk of the council, who shall retain the original and provide an electronic copy to all councilmembers. Following the implementation of RapidRide K Line service, the Metro transit department shall consult with the cities of Kirkland and Bellevue before making any changes to the routing or station locations.

                     SECTION 3.  Before the start of RapidRide K Line service, the executive shall transmit to the council a service change ordinance in accordance with K.C.C 28.94.020 that identifies hours of operation and service levels by period of the day.

                     SECTION 4.  For the purpose of securing federal financial assistance for the development and implementation of RapidRide K Line capital projects as documented in the six-year capital improvement program, the executive or designee is authorized to enter into a RapidRide K Line project agreement that includes defined service level commitments as a prescribed condition of receiving federal funds, but only if the following conditions are met:

                     A.  The contractual service commitment does not exceed the period of performance specified in the federal grant agreement; and

                     B.  The contractual service commitment does not exceed five years from the opening of revenue service.