Drafter
Clerk 12/11/2014
Title
A MOTION authorizing the chair of the council to enter into a contract for facilitation services for the Eastside Rail Corridor regional planning process.
Body
WHEREAS, the Eastside Rail Corridor is a forty-two-mile corridor that extends from Renton to Snohomish and from Woodinville to Redmond, and
WHEREAS, the Eastside Rail Corridor creates direct, contiguous land use and transportation connections through the communities of Renton, Bellevue, Kirkland, Redmond, Woodinville, Snohomish county and King County, and
WHEREAS, King County's established policy for the Eastside Rail Corridor emphasizes the critical importance of transportation dual-use for transit and nonmotorized trail purposes, to link these centers and cities of the Puget Sound region, and
WHEREAS, development of the Eastside Rail Corridor has the potential to meet future public transportation needs and provide regional livability by connecting South, East and North King County through a series of biking, walking and hiking trails, as well as public transportation infrastructure, and
WHEREAS, this corridor is strategically important because it links underserved communities of the south county to economic vitality of job growth on the eastside of the county, and
WHEREAS, the Eastside Rail Corridor could provide for a regional trail system that could extend into Snohomish and Skagit counties to the north and Pierce county to the south, and
WHEREAS, portions of the Eastside Rail Corridor already serve as a regional utility corridor for the transmission of gas, electricity, water and wastewater, and
WHEREAS, the Eastside Rail Corridor provides a transgenerational opportunity to support walkable, compact and connected communities through publicly owned lands, subject to potential future reactivation for interstate freight-rail service, and
WHEREAS, King County's multiusage policy identifies the critical importance of a comprehensive regional planning ...

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