Some believe the extension of the new Burke-Gilman Trail from Northwest 60th Street to Golden Gardens Park can cause traffic problems while a another says some trail signs are not consistent.

The comments came at a meeting last week where residents voiced their concerns and questions.

A large segment of the trail runs along Seaview Avenue to Golden Gardens Park. Sharon Briggs, Recreational Boating Manager for the Port of Seattle, expressed concern that construction traffic will negatively impact nearby businesses.

Contractor Steve Murdoch, of C.A. Carey Corporation, said that parking will be flagged on the right-hand side of Seaview Avenue. Gregg Hirakawa, spokesperson for Seattle Department of Transportation, later said that organizers are working to minimize impact for on-street parking that serves local restaurants.

"Generally speaking you won't see heavy equipment being staged on a roadway like you do with a road construction project," Hirakawa said. "It will be on the trail where the work is. There shouldn't be too many traffic impacts."

There will also be an on-site construction trailer on Seaview Avenue, just north of Gordo's Hamburger Stand.

One person also questioned the purpose of a chain-link fence to line the east side of the trail parallel to the Ballard Terminal Railroad tracks from Northwest 60th to Northwest 67th streets. He commented that it will prevent the use of existing public footpaths.

According to Diana Holloway, the project manager, the city mandated a four-foot, six-inch fence be built to prevent pedestrians from crossing the tracks. The west side of this segment will be blocked with a sloped retaining wall with a metal railing at the top. A pedestrian crossing will be installed across a spur-line track after this segment.

"The place that we cross, the train is moving very, about 10 mph," Hirakawa said. "The train comes only one to three or four times a week. And you can see it coming from both sides."

Other major concerns about the Burke-Gilman trail were right-of-way signage and maintenance.

"There are places on the trail where signage is not consistent," said a Ballard resident. "In other places, such as near the University, there is no designation. There are only a few faded path marks on the path."

He claimed that through Fremont, signs indicate that pedestrians must keep to the right side of the trail, but on Leary Street pedestrians are advised to walk on the side of the path closest to the canal.

Holloway said she could not comment specifically on the signs to be installed in the new trail segment, but said she would take note of the complaint.

"Like with the segment built a few years ago, we will continue to monitor traffic use," she said. "If there is need for signage, we will follow that."

Construction plans call for a 10- to 12-foot wide path along the new segment, with a two-foot shoulder and five-foot strip of landscaping. Landscaping will be maintained by the Seattle Department of Transportation, as it has been for previous trail segments.

A Ballard resident called the landscaping strips currently on the trail "choked with weeds" and said "they are starting to get overgrown."

Holloway said that current city Department of Transportation maintenance work is supplemented by volunteer cleaning efforts "but the reality is that the city doesn't have that many landscaping crews, and we do what we can."

The trail extension is slated for completion in late December.

Kat Lewin may be contacted at katl@robinsonnews.com