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REDMOND
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FRIDAY, MAY 24, 2013
A DIVISION OF SOUND PUBLISHING
Tires are always spinning for local cyclists Redmond’s second Bike Bash is a success
SAMANTHA PAK
ANDY NYSTROM
spak@redmond-reporter.com
anystrom@redmond-reporter.com
As Lorraine Josifek pointed the way to the Redmond Bike Bash, cyclist Bill Tsang noticed the invitation and turned off the Sammamish River Trail and joined the celebration. Josifek, a member of the city’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee, got many other cyclists on board with attending the free event last Friday evening near the City Hall campus. “It’s nice to see so many people out and about,” said Tsang, a Redmond resident, who added about Redmond’s cycling culture, “There’s a lot of things like the Sammamish River Trail here and the Velodrome at Marymoor Park that makes it very conducive for people to get out and ride.” The event featured helmet fittings, bike registration, massages, bike check-ups with local shops, live music, food samples and a beer garden by Redmond’s Bar and Grill. Redmond is known as the “Bicycle Capital of the Northwest,” and Mayor John Marchione’s signed proclamation touching upon that title and the importance of biking to work was displayed at the event. It read, in part: “The City of Redmond acknowledges that cycling to work alleviates traffic congestion, reduces air pollution, decreases fuel consumption and contributes to a healthier, dynamic and more vibrant
No challengers for City Council candidates
Julie Konkle of Redmond speaks with an Element Cycles representative while the brakes on her husband’s bike are checked at last Friday’s Bike Bash off the Sammamish River Trail near the City Hall campus. ANDY NYSTROM, Redmond Reporter community.” Jill Smith, a member of the City of Redmond Trip Resource and Incentive Program (R-TRIP), was pleased to see so many cyclists at the Bike Bash and biking to work last Friday. “I think there’s a lot of people who are really interested in the environment and being sustainably conscious,” she said, adding that camaraderie with cyclists is huge on the trails or at the Bike Bash. “A lot of people bike together and come in teams, of either two or their whole bike team.” Kristen Sanders, who has been involved with the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center for about
14 years, got the word out at the Bike Bash for the organization’s Obliteride benefit event, which will take place Aug. 9-11 in Seattle and Tacoma. Cyclists will ride between 25 and 180 miles over the weekend. “As you know, unfortunately (cancer) touches all of us in some way. I have been personally affected by it, my father-in-law actually just finished his surgery and chemotherapy for his very rare cancer that he had, so funding research is really important to me,” Sanders said. Molly Johnson of the Marymoor Velodrome Association set up a table at the event to discuss track cycling with attendees. She’s a big
fan of cycling on the track or on the trails, when the sun is shining or if it’s raining. Johnson said that people enjoy being “active and healthy and they really take advantage of what they have around here. I think we have great trails, great bike lanes — people are aware of the cyclists around here and try to help with the traffic flow.” Redmond resident Julie Konkle enjoys cycling with her family on the Sammamish River Trail from Redmond to Kenmore and back. “I feel really safe taking my 3-yearold and 10-year-old — it’s just a very family friendly, beautiful community,” she said.
The three Redmond City Council candidates in this year’s election will be running unopposed. May 17 was the deadline for candidate filing in King County and Byron Shutz, Kim Allen and John Stilin were the only ones to file for Council positions 2, 4 and 6, respectively. This will be Allen’s third term as a City Council member and Stilin’s second term. Both candidates announced their plans to run for re-election in February. Shutz, is running to fill Position 2, which will be vacated at the end of the year as current City Council President Pat Vache will step down and not seek re-election. Shutz first announced his plan to run for Redmond City Council in March. In addition to the three Redmond City Council positions, two positions on the Lake Washington School District (LWSD) board of directors — for District No. 3 and District No. 4 — are also up for re-election. Nancy Phillips Bernard, who has been on the school board since 1997, is running for re-election in District No. 3, which covers LWSD’s Kamiakin region and unincorporated King County around Kirkland. Mark W. Stuart will be running for LWSD’s District No. 4 position, which will be vacated at the end of the year by Doug Eglington, who will not be seeking re-election. District No. 4 covers Sammamish.
As downtown changes, businesses find new homes SAMANTHA PAK spak@redmond-reporter.com
As the City of Redmond focuses on turning the downtown into an urban center, the neighborhood has been seeing many changes — from the construction of new multi-story, multi-use buildings to increased development along the Redmond Central Connector and more. To make way for these changes, businesses throughout the neighborhood have moved
to new locations or are moving to new locations.
WORKING OUT IN THE END
BUSINESS REPORT
After spending 41 years in the same location at the corner of Brown Street and Redmond Way downtown, Redmond Cycle moved to its new location at 7495 159th Place N.E. on March 3 to make way for the planned Downtown Park. While owner Ernie Estrin
was initially reluctant about the move, saying he was very upset when he heard about the city’s plan for the park and didn’t want to move, things have been doing well for the 45-year-old bike shop. “It’s really worked out pretty good, actually,” he said. This being said, Redmond Cycle has come across one obstacle since the move. Estrin said 159th Place Northeast is not as busy as Redmond Way. “Our customers are still call-
ing and emailing to find our new location,” he said. The new location is about three blocks southwest from the old building and Estrin said, at about 7,200 square feet, the space is twice as big as the previous 3,600-square-foot store. With this extra space, he said they are able to display more bikes of different sizes and they have space for clothing and accessories. In addition, Redmond Cycle’s parking lot is now twice as big at
the new location, which Estrin said is very close to a bike trail. Although the move worked out for Redmond Cycle, Estrin said they did struggle a bit with trying to find a space that would work and they could afford. He said a number of organizations, developers and real estate agencies were able to help them with this search. “The city treated us pretty darn fair and we were able to make the move,” Estrin added. [ more BUSINESS page 5 ]