(PDF, 281KB)
Kirkland’s Goat Hill stormwater drainage contractor is paving sections of Northeast 116th and 117th places this week. To view the map above as a .pdf, click here(PDF, 281KB).
The project will abandon an open ditch install along Northeast 117th Place, install 2,500 linear feet of new stormwater pipe along it, Northeast 116th Place and 90th Avenue Northeast. It will also install more than 50 catch-basins and a retaining wall.
To see the locations of the improvements, please refer to the map above(PDF, 275KB).
This capital project is the second of two projects Kirkland planned to reduce flooding potential on Goat Hill.
The City hired OMA Construction in February 2024 to implement the design and plans to complete construction by fall 2025.
Will the City plow Goat Hill roads during winter?
No. Due to safety concerns, the City of Kirkland does not plow steep neighborhood roads. Kirkland focuses its snow plowing resources on its most used and relied upon streets. To see Kirkland's snow plow map, click here.
However, the City's maintenance division does pre-treat and de-ice Goat Hill roads as long as it can do it safely. The City's maintenance division of public works will also work with its police and fire departments to respond to any emergencies on Goat Hill.
Does the City maintain overgrown vegetation that is within the right-of-way?
Yes. Kirkland's streets and grounds division regularly trims vegetation that is compromising safety within the right-of-way. It does not trim vegetation that is on private property. That is the responsibility of the property owner.
To report vegetation that is encroaching in the right-of-way, click here and follow the prompts. The maintenance division tries to respond within two weeks. If the encroaching vegetation is on private property, the City will ask the property owner to trim the vegetation.
Will the City repave the roadway after the stormwater project is completed?
Kirkland’s project involves both stormwater improvements and road paving. Kirkland's contractor is on-track to repave the roadway in fall before the October paving deadline.
Can the City delay its stormwater project until Puget Sound Energy has completed its utility relocation project?
Not without creating challenges for Goat Hill residents and the project budget. Delaying the stormwater project until Puget Sound Energy finishes relocating its gas lines would almost certainly delay repaving the street until spring, forcing residents to travel along damaged roads during winter. Also, delaying a capital project that is within the contracted schedule would require that the contractor be compensated for unproductive working days and re-mobilization.
Why did Kirkland decide to allow night construction?
Kirkland's public works director used her legal authority to ensure the Goat Hill stormwater drainage project is successful by approving Puget Sound Energy's request for night work.
This decision eliminated the probability of a fatal conflict between the two contractors that would have stymied progress for both the gas line relocation and the stormwater upgrade and significantly reduced residents' access to Goat Hill.
Puget Sound Energy needs to relocate its gas lines before Kirkland's contractor can build the Goat Hill stormwater system. Those gas lines occupy the space dedicated to the stormwater system. To put it simply, Kirkland's contractor has no place to put the stormwater system if Puget Sound Energy doesn't move its gas lines.
When were the residents consulted about the construction schedule options?
The City of Kirkland hosted public Zoom meetings on May 30 and June 25. Unfortunately, due to a variety of factors, the City was not able to provide adequate notice to residents. Typically, the City tries to provide at least a week’s notice to residents about an upcoming meeting.
How is Puget Sound Energy and the City of Kirkland mitigating disruptions to residents?
After hearing feedback from the Goat Hill community during the June 25 meeting, the City of Kirkland agreed to schedule Puget Sound Energy's night work between 3 p.m. and midnight each day. In addition, PSE’s night work permit requires its contractor to complete most loud tasks earlier in the day.
What’s causing the drainage issues? Isn’t private development contributing to more runoff?
Goat Hill’s drainage issues derive from two primary sources: groundwater and surface water. The groundwater results from a high water table and Goat Hill’s soil-type. The surface water results from roofs, driveways, sidewalks and other impervious surfaces created during house construction before King County began enforcing modern development standards.
How is the City of Kirkland addressing stormwater drainage challenges in Goat Hill?
The City is using responding to these challenges with a variety of development standards and capital projects.
A 2014 study of Goat Hill’s drainage challenges resulted in two capital projects. The first project—which the City completed in fall 2019—increased stormwater capacity on 116th Place Northeast at its intersection with Juanita Drive by installing a stormwater system of pipes, catch-basins and an outfall, from which stormwater now flows into Lake Washington. That project also repaired damaged pavement along 116th Place Northeast.
The second project is the subject of this webpage.
Another part of the solution for Goat Hill’s stormwater relies on development standards. The City, for example, requires each house to collect, convey and treat the stormwater it generates. And under some circumstances, the City can channel superficial groundwater into its stormwater system.
During private development, how can the City ensure that residents have access to their homes and, at the same time, to City streets?
The City ensures residents’ access by regulating developers’ work hours, their traffic control plans, the order of construction and by enforcing development standards.
For example, Kirkland requires pre-construction meetings between developers utility providers and City staff to discuss project challenges, work hours and dates of conflict, such as garbage days.
The City also requires developers to widen adjoining roadway sections to 20 feet before construction; a measure that maximizes roadway space while they build homes.
Can the City just limit the number of building permits on Goat Hill?
The City cannot legally withhold or delay the issuance of a permit if the application for that permit is valid and complete.
How can the City improve the condition of these limited parking areas and regulate them more effectively?
Kirkland’s maintenance division maintains gravel turnouts in the spring. It is planning to increase maintenance to them. Maintenance crews restore damaged sections of pavement in late spring and summer throughout the city and on Goat Hill.
How can the City remedy these visibility challenges?
Kirkland’s most effective tool is to require developers to first widen the road-section in front of the houses they are building.
What is the City’s plan to maintain and improve the roadway’s pavement?
Along with increased maintenance, the City is also exploring the feasibility of a more comprehensive solution. That solution would likely cost between $1.3 and $1.5 million. Construction, alone, would cost $800,000. These figures do not include recent inflationary increases.
The roads’ unique characteristics—their widths, topographies and limited access options—make paving Goat Hill significantly more complicated—and expensive—than paving a typical arterial.