The southern segment of the East Lake Sammamish Trail at 206th Avenue Southeast before construction began. Here the county wants to relocate these stop signs so trail users can have the right of way. Megan Campbell/staff photo

King County filed a motion for a preliminary injunction in federal court Monday, following the June 14 lawsuit it submitted regarding the East Lake Sammamish Trail against the city of Sammamish.

The new motion asks the court to expedite the legal process of ruling on the ownership issue between the city of Sammamish and the county and to lift the city’s stop work orders, which the city issued June 16 for work being done on two city streets where they intersect with the trail.

These two intersections, at 206th Avenue Southeast and Southeast 33rd Street, are at the crux of the June 14 lawsuit the county filed in the United State District Court. At these intersections the county wants to relocate stop signs, which currently stop trail users, so that they would instead stop vehicular traffic, citing safety reasons.

Both roads dead-end. Two-hundred-sixth Avenue Southeast serves 15 homes generating around 180 trips per day while Southeast 33rd Street is one of three access points for 46 homes generating around 552 trips per day, according to King County Parks and Recreation Director Kevin Brown.

“By contrast, original design estimates for the [East Lake Sammamish Trail] have projected between 2,500 and 4,000 trail users would cross these intersections on peak days and newer estimates are even higher,” court documents read.

The city is against moving the stop signs. But regardless of the city’s position, to perform any work in the city’s right of way, the county would have to file for a right of way permit, according to the city.

The county disagrees, contending that it does not need a right of way permit as the two intersections are within the trail corridor and therefore not under the city’s regulatory authority.

“With the City and King County at an impasse over the Intersections, this declaratory judgment action is necessary to resolve the dispute between these governments so that the [East Lake Sammamish Trail] can reopen for public use,” according to court documents.

The county claims that the city’s code is preempted by the National Trails Systems Act and the Interstate Commerce Commission Termination Act.

The ownership issue boils down to whether or not the East Lake Sammamish Trail should be treated like a railroad. The county believes it should.

“We believe we inherited all the rights the railroad had,” Brown said. “We want to make sure what we believe is our right is our right.”

Brown is calling the lawsuit a good thing for both parties, as it would clear up any other property issues in this and other trail corridors.

In an email sent to city staff and council members, Sammamish City Manager Lyman Howard said the county’s move to file for a preliminary injunction “isn’t entirely unexpected.”

“We are disappointed that the County has decided to make a federal case out of what appears to be nothing more than a genuine disagreement over engineering judgment,” Howard said in a statement. “The City will defend the lawsuit and looks forward to correcting the many factual inaccuracies and mischaracterizations in the County’s court papers.”

The 11-mile trail connecting Redmond to Issaquah is part of a larger regional trail system that connects Seattle to the Eastside and the Cascade Foothills. There are three segments in the city of Sammamish.





