City, tribe seek State Route 164 upgrades

Anyone who’s ever tried make his or her way on foot along the east of Riverwalk Drive from Howard Road to Auburn Way South knows the problem.

Where are the sidewalks?

Equally frustrating: any attempt to walk the sidewalks on the south side of the highway from the R Street bridge to Muckleshoot Plaza, and from Hemlock Drive to Poplar Street Southeast.

There’s a sidewalk, but there are big gaps in it.

On Oct. 12, city leaders hashed over a proposed memorandum of understanding with the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe that would have the tribe kick in dollars and support for these non-motorized city projects on and next to Auburn Way South.

In addition, the MOU provides the framework for the city to support improvements pursued by the tribe, among them a trail project to build non-motorized connections on and along Auburn Way South from the tribal center at Southeast 392nd to Poplar Street Southeast

The tribe’s trail project would likely be implemented in several phases starting from the tribal center and then expanding west.

The city anticipates the MOU will come up for a formal council vote on Oct. 19.