Maplewood Glen sidewalk replacement “sea of concrete” disappoints some residents

Renton resident Nancy Quinn is disappointed that a City of Renton contractor covered so much of her front yard with concrete when updating the sidewalks in her neighborhood.  She feels that this oversized driveway apron “makes her cute house look unbalanced and out of character with the street. “

Unfortunately, the large expanse of concrete appears to slope toward Ms. Quinn’s home, potentially creating a drainage issue where the new concrete intersects her driveway.

Prior to the Maplewood Sidewalk rehabilitation project, Ms. Quinn’s home looked like this. She misses the grass and the right-sized driveway that matched her one-car garage on her 90-year old home.

Renton’s Maplewood Glen neighborhood brims with charming mid-century homes populated by many long-time Renton residents.  The well-loved and historic neighborhood is near the Cedar River, just off of Maple Valley Highway. Many of its residents are avid gardeners and nature lovers.  They were looking forward to getting new sidewalks, but some residents feel they got far too much concrete.

About twenty years ago the City of Renton determined the sidewalks were getting too old in this neighborhood.  The City began a multi-phase project to design and build all-new sidewalks.

In 2018 as some of the sidewalks were being updated on the east end of the project, the city received complaints about the unnecessarily wide curb cuts and driveway stubs that were being installed.  At least one resident felt the driveways were a mismatch for their homes and took out too much planting space.  This resident expressed dismay at the unnecessarily wide “wings” on the oversized driveways that consumed even more planting area.  She appealed to the city to make her driveway right-sized.  I was still on Renton Council at the time, and I encouraged our then Public Works director to take the resident’s concerns seriously.  He did, and the engineers downsized her driveway curb cut while still meeting all ADA sidewalk codes. They saved money on concrete as well.

In 2020, the pandemic put the project on a years-long hold.  The project has recently come back, and I and the former Public Works Director have both retired.  This time, when residents voiced concerns about unnecessarily oversized driveway cuts, they say the City has dismissed their concerns.

Engineering drawing prepared in September 2025 show the new driveway aprons at Ms. Quinn’s home (Center, designated by circle number 6). Unfortunately she says she was never shown these drawings.  The drawings can be viewed here.

One of the residents, Nancy Quinn, filled me in on what she characterized as “very frustrating” exchanges with Renton’s current Public Works leadership, and she provided me with email records on the topic.  She’s disappointed with the unnecessarily wide curb cuts and driveway stubs, the oversized driveway wings that cut into the planting strips, and worrisome drainage issues raised by the new design.

Two doors west of Ms. Quinn’s home, a home was given a continuous driveway apron that covers much of the front yard and eliminates the planting strip entirely

I placed a level across the street, sidewalk and gutter to see which way the water would flow. It was very gently sloped off the street onto the driveway, with just a quarter inch deep gutter in between.

This home in Kennydale features a permeable driveway with a right-size curb cut and triangular wings, minimizing runoff. Ms. Quinn said she was told by City Staff that she was not allowed to have a driveway like this. Permeable driveways are specifically encouraged by Renton Municipal Code 4-4-080: “Surfacing treatments that provide increased infiltration opportunities, such as permeable pavements, shall be used where feasible and to the extent required by the Surface Water Design Manual.”

Sidewalks are very desirable for safety.  It’s not unusual for a sidewalk project to create concerns for impacted residents.  Sidewalk slopes and ramp widths must be carefully engineered to meet ADA accessibility requirements. Achieving these standards can require significant re-grading, particularly in hilly areas.  Past sidewalk projects in other parts of town have raised resident concerns about high-centered driveways, loss of auxiliary RV and trailer parking, destruction of prized landscapes, drainage concerns, and  other issues.  Public Works typically works collaboratively with residents to work through as many of these issues as possible, preferably during the design stage of the project. Lately, it seems that Public Works is not listening to residents.

About 20-30% of the extra concrete poured at Ms. Quinn’s home is due to an apparent change in standards regarding the driveway “wings” that provide turning radius into the driveway.  These wings were historically triangular, but the Renton standard appears to have changed in 2014 and the wings became square.  The square wings can significantly reduce the planting area on both sides of the driveway, especially if the planting strip is extra wide.  I don’t know of an engineering reason for the change,  and it seems to me it should be reviewed.  I don’t remember being asked to approve this change, and for all I know the change could have been a scrivener’s error in a diagram.

This legacy Renton residential driveway standard shows triangular shaped wings between the curb and the driveway.

This 2014 Renton driveway diagram entrance shows square wings between the curb and driveway; this appears to be the standard that was used in the Maplewood Glen neighborhood.

Street view looking west with Ms. Quinn’s home on the right, before the sidewalk project (photo from Google Maps)

Street view after the sidewalk project (taken this morning)

I like new sidewalks but this project could have been done with less concrete, better drainage, and more communication with the residents.