Debra Sinick

Posts Tagged ‘Bellevue’

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Today’s Seattle/Eastside BNSF Rails and Trails News, Plus Upcoming Eastside Meetings

In Kirkland News, Kirkland WA, rails to trails on April 28, 2008 at 4:36 pm

 

There are a number of active groups on the eastside who are for smart transit and trails, but not wasting taxpayer money.  Find out about this issue.  If you live within one mile of the BNSF tracks, you will be affected.

 

   On May 1st at 7 PM, there is a meeting at the Houghton Fire Station in Kirkland, 6602 108th Ave NE with the Cascade Bicycle Club to review the issues.

 

  On May 5th, there is a meeting with the King County Council, 10th floor of the King County Courthouse Building, 516 3rd Avenue in which people are invited to voice their opinions. ( FYI, I do not know if the time or the place have been confirmed for this meeting.)

 

And lastly, on May 8th, The Eastside Trail Advocates will be holding a meeting at the Houghton Fire Station at 7:30 PM  to review the issues.  Become informed about what may happen so you can decide what is the right thing to do.

 

 

Here is a copy of some of the key testimony given by Shawn at today’s King County Council meeting:

 

KING COUNTY COMMISSIONERS                                                                                 Seattle, April 28, 2008

“ Leaving the option of using the corridor for commuter trains indefinitely open seems sensible to me.  BUT, what is most important is that WHEN that option is exercised, it be BASED on a reliable and impartial Economic Evaluation of ALL the major transit-related options available. That should include, at least, Buses, Trains on 405, Highway Tolls, Bicycles, and even Rollerblades.

 Such an evaluation does not need to be too long or expensive, given the information already obtained from previous studies and experiences on projects like the Sounder Train, the Monorail, and Bus ridership.  However, it must include a fair comparison of the TOTAL Short- and Long-Term COST-PER-COMMUTER associated with each transportation option.  It should ALSO include a BALANCED comparison of the local and regional recreational, health, and life-style BENEFITS that ALL, or Parts of the corridor, may offer to Eastside and King County communities.  Finally, the conclusions and recommendations of this study should, in my opinion,  be ‘certified’,  by neutral Business-Teams from 1 or 2 local universities,  that THEY ARE fair and complete’, in order to minimize further controversy.

Only THEN, should the top option, or maybe even the top 2 options, be submitted to the voters for final selection.  Any rush, at this time, to submit commuter-train ballot propositions, based on incomplete studies and narrow interests, will be justifiably viewed by the voters with suspicion.”

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Kirkland, Washington and The Downtown Arts Scene

In Kirkland News, Kirkland WA on February 13, 2008 at 7:15 pm

When I turned the corner from Lake St. onto Central Way the other day, I noticed the sign in the window of Patricia Rovzar’s gallery:

Patricia Rovzar Gallery

Congratulations to Patricia, Eric, and her staff for providing a wonderful space to view and buy art.  The Patricia Rovzar Gallery is a class act with a solid following as it celebrates its 15 year tenure in downtown Kirkland.

  For years, my husband and I would try to make it to Thursday night’s art walk.  It was a great community event with lots of people out and about, strolling through the art galleries.  The gallery owners would recognize us as “regulars.”  We’d run into our Kirkland neighbors.  It was fun and I miss it.  Art Walk is still here but on a much smaller scale these days, because there are fewer galleries.

Art Walk helped define the city of Kirkland.  It’s part of our identity.  People move to Kirkland because of its small town, unique feel, its great parks and waterfront,  its shops, restaurants, and galleries.

 Redmond is our technology king, Bellevue is the economic heart of the eastside, Issaquah has its Alps and salmon, and Woodinville its wineries.    People choose to live in all of these cities for many reasons, but often because of each city’s ambiance and reputation.  Kirkland’s downtown has always been known for its charming lakeside retail and arts scene.  

This article from The Seattle Times discusses changes in Kirkland.   We all know Kirkland is changing in many ways.  It’s important to become involved in Kirkland’s future.  Things are happening here, some good and some not so good.  We may see Hector’s torn down and a new complex built.  Parkplace will be torn down and changed into a huge development.   

 As I said, some of this is good, and some of this is not.  It’s important for people to get involved and make their opinions known.  There’s an open house at The Kirkland Performance Center on February 21st to talk about the proposed changes to Parkplace.  Personally, I am for growth and change, but not at the expense of our unique, small town quality. We need to be careful to not lose the soul of our city. It’s what makes us special and excites people about living here.

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The Seattle/Eastside Commute: Sound Transit and the BNSF Rail Line

In Exploring Kirkland, Kirkland News, Kirkland WA, rails to trails on February 3, 2008 at 3:27 pm

BNSF Rail line

Like I said in my last post on the rail/trails, don’t break out the bike or your running shoes until the ink is dry and the money has changed hands.  Yesterday’s Seattle Times reported on Sound Transit’s interest in our rail line.

Since the defeat of Proposition 1, officials have been examining other commuter alternatives.  Rail advocates have been out meeting with many of our City Council.  According to the article in The Times, Mayor Lauinger has expressed an interest in some sort of rail line on the corridor.

 Mary-Alice Burleigh, who is on the Sound Transit Board and the Kirkland City Council, had this to say:

“Rail advocates make is seem that (the line) is a relatively easy and inexpensive thing to do. I’m not convinced of that.”

For starters, since the Wilburton tunnel bridge is going to be removed for 405 expansion, a new bridge would need to be built.  Commuter parking and stations will need to be constructed and spots along the rail line, such as the back entrance to Peter Kirk Elementary would need to be secured.  As we all know, the kids cross the

tracks everyday to get to school.  The fence opening marks the back entrance to the elementary school, right across the tracks.Rail line-back of Peter Kirk Elementary 

In the article and in other proposals,I have yet to see how officials plan to address issues like schools crossings.  Everyday most of the kids who walk to Peter Kirk Elementary School enter this back gate to get to the school, necessitating a walk across the railroad tracks.  I wonder how this would be handled if there was a commuter train coming along this line. 

Oh by the way, no mention of the trail in the latest article, so your guess is as good as mine.  If you know of something different, please feel free to share. If you have strong feelings either way on this issue, please do not hesitate to comment here.

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