News and Articles

We need  a couple of volunteers to step up and help out with the radar boards for the week of June 9th.  The trailers are armed with an alarm system to help deter with any tampering or theft of the boards.  Because of this, the trailers need to be placed along Avondale close enough to someone’s home where they can hear the alarm going off and be able to attend to it.

I was hoping that we could put one of the boards around NE 137 – NE 143rd, and the other board somewhere between NE 153 – 155.  Does anyone live close enough to these locations to be able to hear an alarm going off and attend to it? Please let me know if you can help out with this.  It’s not difficult, just someone to keep a watchful eye and ear and attend to any problems if there are any.
 
Thanks for your consideration in this matter.
 
Rebecca Lavering

Traffic noise is a serious problem

Engine, exhaust, aerodynamic (power train) noise,and pavement/tire noise contribute to traffic noise. The FHWA Noise Abatement Criteria states that noise abatement must be considered for residential areas when the traffic noise levels approach or exceed 67 dB (A). To accomplish this many areas in the United States are building large sound barrier walls at a cost of one to five million dollars per roadway mile. Research in Europe and the United States has indicated that it is possible to build pavement surfaces that will provide low noise roadways. In January of 2002 the National Center for Asphalt Technology (NCAT) initiated a research study with the objective to develop safe, quiet and durable asphalt pavement surfaces.

The first step towards accomplishing this objective was to develop a fast and scientifically reliable method for measuring the acoustical characteristics of pavement surfaces. The next step is to conduct studies to evaluate the tire/pavement noise characteristics of various pavement surfaces and to evaluate what properties of those pavements will provide quiet pavement surfaces.

This is a quote from the paper, “Demonstration Project – The Measurement of Pavement Noise on New Jersey Pavements Using the NCAT Noise Trailer.”

By

Mr. Thomas Bennert, Senior Research Engineer

Mr. Doug Hanson, Assistant Director

Dr. Ali Maher, Professor & Chairman

Dep. of Civil & Environmental Engineering

Center for Advanced Infrastructure & Transportation (CAIT)

Rutgers, The State University

Piscataway, NJ 08854-8014

Come voice your opinion!
45th District Includes: Woodinville, Duvall, Carnation, Kirkland, & Redmond

State Representatives, Larry Springer  and Roger Goodman and Senator Eric Oemig, are holding a Town Hall meeting on May 17th at 1:00pm at the Woodinville Library (17105 Avondale Rd. NE).  They will be reviewing what happened in the 2008 session and would like our feedback.  Please attend and let them know that Transportation isn’t just about the 520 bridge – we also need to improve the maintenance program for roads like Avondale.

In Representative Springer’s recent newsletter he reviewed the following 2008 legislative issues: (1) Protections for consumers, homeowners; (2) Housing security for families; (3) Education Funding; and (4) Transportaiton.

Representative Springer is on the following committees:
Housing, Vice Chair
Rules
Appropriations Subcommittee on Education
Transportation

In Representative Goodman’s recent newsletter he reviewed (1) Saving Lives – holding drunk drivers accountable, (2) Emergency Planning & Response, (3) Improving access to the courts, (4) Early Childhood Education, and (5) Pioneering 4-year program for Lake WA Technical College.

Representative Goodman is on the following committees:
Judiciary, Vice Chair
Early Learning & Children’s Services
Public Safety & Emergency Preparedness
Statute Law

Senator Oemig is on the following committees:
Government Operations & Elections (Vice Chair)
Early Learning and K-12 Education
Water, Energy & Telecommunications
Ways & Means

Zoom zoom zoom
by Jeanette Knutson
Woodinville Weekly, April 28, 2008

Neighbors want noisy road paved
By Amy Roe
Seattle Times Eastside bureau, April 18, 2008

Residents want to reduce Avondale Road noise
by Jeanette Knutson
Woodinville Weekly, April 14, 2008

Listen closely: Our roads are getting quieter
By Amy Roe
Seattle Times Eastside bureau, December 17, 2007

Reporter Jeanette Knutson has provided a thorough update on where we are at as of April 28.

From NWNews:

Edition Date: April 28, 2008
Zoom, zoom, zoom
by Jeanette Knutson
Staff Writer

Citizens are concerned about the deteriorated condition of a 2.5-mile section of Avondale Road between Northeast 134th Street and the Woodinville-Duvall Road.

A better Avondale

A video of the steady traffic along Avondale Road played as 50 or so attendees filed into the April 22 meeting of the Upper Bear Creek Community Council held at the Woodinville Water District. Double-trailer dump trucks rolled across the screen followed by cars, vans, pickups and delivery trucks. A sound track synced to the video provided acoustic reality.

Joanna Hamed, speaking on behalf of the Committee for a Better Avondale (formerly Citizens for a Quieter Avondale), told the audience, “In 1954, Dwight D. Eisenhower was president, and the closest grocery store was in Kirkland when a quiet little gravel road called Avondale was paved. … Fast forward to 2008 and Avondale is almost 55 years old, more than a decade past the normal lifespan of a concrete road, which King County estimates at 40 years. What was once Avondale Road is now ‘Avondale Freeway,’ essentially the unimproved, overlooked and neglected end of State Route 520; and, in the county’s own words, “a major and important connector.”

The Better Avondale group is concerned about road noise, to be sure, particularly the noise from heavy trucks rattling over the road’s bumpy surface. But they’re also concerned about safety.

“Cars race along at almost freeway speeds over a surface that’s run down, worn out and not optimal for stopping,” said Hamed. “… We need action and we want to work with King County to get it. We do not view our position as adversarial.”

The citizens would like King County to consider using rubberized asphalt when it next resurfaces their 2.5-mile section of Avondale from Northeast 134th Street to the Woodinville-Duvall Road. They’ve been schooling themselves about the pros and cons of product, which basically “consists of regular asphalt paving mixed with ‘crumb rubber’ – ground up used tires that would otherwise be discarded or take up space in landfills,” according to the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT), considered a pioneer in the use of rubberized asphalt.

The group is reading technical reports, corresponding with quieter-pavement advocates, and local and state officials. What they’ve learned so far, generally, is that rubber asphalt is initially quieter than regular asphalt and it stays quieter longer. It is tougher so that it doesn’t rut, thereby providing a smoother surface.

A quieter-roads advocate

Walter Scott led a six-year long grassroots movement to convince WSDOT (the Washington State Department of Transportation), local officials and state lawmakers to test sections of rubberized asphalt on State Route 520. He told the audience that he was not an engineer, not in the traffic industry nor was he in the rubberized asphalt business.

“My only interest is in improving our communities,” said Scott.

He relayed some of Arizona’s successes with the product, saying the cost of rubber asphalt was comparable to that of standard hot mix asphalt. Overlays using rubber asphalt only need to be three-quarters of an inch thick compared to 4 to 5 inches thick when standard asphalt is used, he said.

Scott said in 1992, Phoenix used rubberized asphalt on an overlay project. The city was in a hurry. It hadn’t planned for the overlay and it didn’t have a lot of money for it.

“Sixteen years later,” he said, “there is very, very little reflective cracking … with no rutting. Delegations from other countries and states are going to Arizona to witness the oracle.”

Some believe it is too cold to lay the product here in Washington. Not true, said Scott. The California standard is 55 degrees. It could be laid here at night. Others believe studded tires will tear up a rubberized asphalt road, he said.

“It will hold up better than standard asphalt,” Scott said, adding that Washington should consider banning studded tires as other states have.

Initially, ADOT staunchly resisted using rubberized asphalt, he said.

“People are resistant to change,” Scott said. “They are entrusted with huge sums of public money and are faced with huge safety issues.”

He invited people to drive the rubber asphalt test strips along State Route 520. They’re a half-mile long on either side of the road, starting at the 78th Street overpass.

“Drive it and test it for yourself,” said Scott. “This section of Avondale could be laid with rubberized asphalt with great results I think.”

A county perspective

“I don’t disagree with Walter at all,” said Rick Brater, manager of the Engineering Services Section of the county’s Road Services Division.

He said King County had a pretty big transportation system to manage, 1,800 lane miles, 195 bridges. With money tight, its focus is preserving the roads it has. Avondale is not in the county budget in the near future.

“Avondale was a casualty of Initiative 776,” said Brater, “which removed the vehicle license fees and reduced funding for the Capital Improvement Plan by $120 million over six years. It affected our ability to finance our roads. The $120 million impact forced us to totally reprioritize our focus.”

He said that every year, the county overlays about 40 miles of roads with two inches of standard hot mix asphalt. Each overlay extends the life of a road by 11 to 14 years.

“We can basically keep the roads alive forever,” said Brater.

King County does not agree with Scott’s statement that rubber asphalt is comparable in price to standard asphalt.

According to an e-mail from Rochelle Ogershok, public information officer for the Road Services Division,

“Asphalt plants cannot … produce rubberized asphalt at the same time they are producing more conventional products, and the equipment used to produce rubberized asphalt must be cleaned after every production run.

“Manufacturers of rubberized asphalt have informed King?County staff that the product may therefore be – at a minimum – 25 to 50 percent more expensive per ton, depending on the quantities ordered and produced. Availability is therefore limited by the willingness of asphalt plants to produce the product due to scheduling conflicts with the production of more conventional products.”

Ogershok said that in principle, King County had no objections to overlaying with rubberized asphalt.

“However,” she wrote, “only when the product is readily available and can be procured in a cost-effective manner will it be evaluated for use in county overlays and Capital Improvement Plan projects.”

The county uses a pavement scoring system that goes from 0 to 100.

According to Ogershok, the pavement is scored based on measurements of roughness, surface distress, skid resistance, and deflection. The score reflects the overall condition and performance of the pavement.

Avondale, which was evaluated in the last few weeks, has a score of 51.

“A score of 40 or less goes into the pool to be considered for an overlay,” said Brater. “Avondale hasn’t dropped into the 40 or below range. We see roads degrade three to five points per year. So in four years, it could be about 40, and it could get put in the pool for consideration.”

He said the county didn’t know much about rubberized asphalt. They haven’t had any experience with it.

“It’s new to this state,” said Brater, “and yes, we are conservative. We are a little bit stodgy. We want to make sure what we put down is the best. When it’s new to us, we do take baby steps. There is not enough data about rubberized asphalt. We don’t know the wear history in Western Washington. We are concerned about cost versus long-term performance. …

“The overlay program is not focused on noise, only to extend the life of the roads. We haven’t really even looked at rubberized asphalt in our overlay program. We have some real research to do on our own. We need to make sure we’re comfortable. How well it holds up is not a slam-dunk for us.

“Avondale is not the worst road in King County. When this road needs to get overlaid, it will get overlaid. To do something additional, we need to have some additional funding,” said Brater.

“How can we learn about grant opportunities?” said Megan DeSantis, a Better Avondale co-organizer.

“You can certainly work with us,” said Brater.

“We are committed to doing what it takes to get Avondale fixed,” said Hamed.

“This is the beginning of a good dialog here,” said Brater.

“This is the exact thing that the Upper Bear Creek Community Council was born to address,” said Nancy Stafford, community council secretary.

Hamed said in an e-mail after the meeting, “Megan and I are thrilled by the progress so far: a good turnout at the meeting, a committed and motivated committee, the launch of our Web site (www.abetteravondale.com), letters of support and commitment from elected officials and many from the community.

“We are not deterred by the county’s (message of) ‘no money.’ Rather, it helped us to focus our goals on 1) re-evaluation of Avondale as a ‘51,’ 2) understanding and exploring alternative sources of money such as grants, and 3) community support.

“King County Councilmember Kathy Lambert’s office confirmed by letter that they are setting up a meeting with the Roads Division and then will meet with us. State Rep. Roger Goodman confirmed his support as well as the support of Rep. Larry Springer, who sits on the state’s Transportation Committee.”