Debra Sinick

Archive for May, 2008|Monthly archive page

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Washington’s King County to Buy The Rail Line-What’s Next? Will There Be a Trail, Rail or Both?

In King County, Kirkland News, Kirkland WA, rails to trails, Uncategorized on May 6, 2008 at 3:50 pm

The Seattle Times reported today that King County has agreed to the keep the BNSF rail line in the public domain.  A trail could (the operative word being could) be on the rail line sometime in the near future.  However, all that is to be decided in the future. 

Keith Ervin reports in The Times article:

“Port and county officials said the deal upholds the concept of “dual use” of the 42-mile corridor by rail commuters and trail users on foot or on bike. But many details wouldn’t be decided for months or years, and there is no assurance that either a trail or passenger trains would be a reality in the near future.”

The first step has been passed with county agreeing to the three way deal with the Port of Seattle and BNSF rail line.  The deal between the three must be signed by May 15th or there will be a huge financial penalty.

National Public Radio also had a story reporting on the latest update.  Check out this link to hear Liam Moriarty’s piece on the latest rail/trail news.

Much still needs to be decided and hashed out over whether there will be a trail or a commuter line or both.  There will be public hearings in which you can voice your opinion.  You can also contact King County Council Members and make your opinions known.

The Eastside Trail Advocates are holding a meeting on Thursday, May 8th at 7 PM at the Houghton Fire Station meeting room.  The address is 6602 108th Ave NE, Kirkland, WA 98033.  This meeting will be a great opportunity to hear about the issues.

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Weekly Real Estate Buzz in the Kirkland Highlands through May 2, 2008

In Kirkland News, Kirkland WA, Kirkland, WA Real Estate, market statistics, Real estate, sellers, Weekly market update on May 4, 2008 at 11:13 pm

Update post it

 (Numbers in parentheses are for last week’s data)

Active Listings:   26(26)

New listings:  1(2)

Re-listed properties: 0(0)

Sold subject to inspection:  0(2) 

Pending:  1(0)

Closed Sales:   1(1)

Contingent sale: 0(0)

Number of Price Reductions:  0(0)

Cancelled listings 0(1)

Expired Listings: 1(0)

Temporarily Off Market:  0(0)

Price increase:  0(0)

Back on market: 0(0)

———————————–

0-$349,999:   0(0)

$350,000-$499,999:   2(1)

$500,000-$749,999:    8 (8)

$750,000-$999,999:  9 (9)

$1,000,000- $1,499,999:   4(4)

$1,500,000- $2,999,999:   3(4)
———————————–
Average Price: $921,723 ($993,840)

Median Price:   $864,103($869,473)

Market: 63(63)

Highest Priced Listing: $1,890,000 ($2,299,950)

Lowest Priced Listing: $424,900 ($489,000)

This week’s real estate buzz:

New listings:

(Homes new on the market this week)

$424,900 Edwards Place remodeled home 2 bedrooms, 1.5 baths, 1 car garage.

Homes sold subject to inspection:

(homes that received an offer, but still have to go through a buyer’s inspection)

None this week.

Pending sales:

(homes that have had the inspection resolved between the buyer and seller)

$684,900 Highland Creste  4 bedroom, 3 bath, 3210 sq ft.

Closed sales:

(Homes in which the ownership has changed hands and the new owner has moved in)

$665,000 Highland Creste home listed at $699,000.   Sold in 162 days for 13 % below the original asking price of $759,000.

Sold contingent:

(Home sales in which the buyer still needs to sell their home in order to buy the new home)

None this week.

Price reductions:

None this week.

Price increases:

None this week.

Expired listings:

(The contract to sell the home has expired)

$2,299,000 two story with basement, 3645 sq ft and awesome lake, city, and mountain views.

Cancelled listings:

(The seller has taken the home off the market)

None this week.

Temporarily off the market:

(The seller has taken the home temporarily off the market.

None this week.

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Town homes/ condos:

7 currently homes currently on the market

New listing:

$439,000 Michigan Station Town home 2 bedroom, 1.75 baths

Expired listings:

$440,000 Forbes Creek Town home with 1530 sq ft, 3 bdrooms.

Pending listings:

$599,000 Highland Pointe town home 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths

 

 

 

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How Safe Will It Be For Kids To Cross the Railroad Tracks to Go to School in Kirkland, Washington?

In Bellevue, Kirkland News, Kirkland WA, rails to trails, WA on May 4, 2008 at 1:28 pm

Picture a commuter train whizzing by in Kirkland during the morning commute on its way to Bellevue.  The tracks completely separate the Kirkland Highlands neighborhood from Peter Kirk Elementary School and Kirkland Junior High.  There’s no other way to walk to school and Peter Kirk is a “walking” school.   Picture kids crossing the tracks to visit friends after school hours when there’s no supervision at the crossing.

The following videos show school children crossing the railroad tracks on the way to school from the Kirkland Highlands neighborhood.  The entire neighborhood of over 600 homes is separated by the railroad tracks from the school.  The kids cross over 110th Ave NE and the railroad tracks behind Peter Kirk Elementary to get to school.  As you can see, the kids are walking and running to school.

 

 The crossing guard raised her concern about kids walking down the tracks to get to school in the morning.  Someone can come to educate the kids about railroad safety, but having worked with middle school kids for 13 years in the past, I’m familiar with typical teen and “kid” behavior.  Kids won’t remember what someone told them three months ago about not walking on the railroad tracks. Walking on the tracks is more of a problem when kids go from neighborhood to neighborhood to see their friends or  walk to downtown Kirkland, not just to school.  There are no crossing guards watching over them at those times.

 

From the Highlands neighborhood, kids also cross over the railroad tracks in Cotton Hill Park, a few blocks north, to get to Kirkland Junior High.  That crossing is far more concerning because young teens tend to be busy multi-tasking as they walk to school.  Picture typical teen behavior and you see teens talking to friends, talking on cell phones, running, and listening to IPods.  You do not picture kids paying attention as well as they should to their surroundings.  How many teens do you know who think they are invincible and will try to tempt fate by running in front of a train as they are rushing late to school?

 

If a fence is erected to stop people from walking down the tracks, kids will be cut off from their friends.  Walking paths will be cut off to schools. Neighborhoods will be cut off from each other.  Not only is the rail line as a commuter line a safety hazard, it will hurt the fabric of the community.

 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNNotGSiTqA

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