Reporter ISSAQUAH | SAMMAMISH
www.issaquahreporter.com
Friday, October 24, 2014
INSIDE Bike lanes a communication failure the Reporter
ELECTION | The Candidates of the 5th Legislative District [2-3]
BY BRYAN TRUDE
ISSAQUAH/SAMMAMISH REPORTER
Parents, locals and school officials were caught by surprise when the city of Sammamish re-striped Trossachs Boulevard, adding a bike lane in front of Cascade Ridge Elementary School, in what city officials are admitting was a failure of communication. The bike lane was a response to complaints last summer about speeding along Trossachs Boulevard when school was letting students in or out of school. “Our traffic engineers also sat out there and observed traffic conditions,” Public Works Director Laura Philpot said.
“We asked, what were things we could do with the roadway configuration to slow things down?” However, supporters and opponents of the change never were consulted regarding the new bike lane. “It was just done behind our back,” Simona Saint, who voiced her complaints about the project to the Sammamish City Council, said. “That is a walking community. There are no school busses, so most families are walking and dropping off their kids.” Opponents like Saint cite that the new lane, which runs down the middle of the street next to a constricted northbound vehicle lane, does
BRYAN TRUDE, Issaquah/Sammamish Reporter
This bike lane on Trossachs Boulevard has left residents conflicted on its effectiveness and safety. nothing to reduce speeding and just puts kids in bicycles closer to traffic. The new lanes also removed about 15 parking spaces in the street, forcing families coming to the school
for after-school programs to park further up the road. “They have a standard, but they need to re-look at the SEE BIKE, 7
A family affair for Nightmare ARTS | “Mary Poppins” flies into the Francis J. Gaudette Theatre [10]
Sammamish dad, mom and daughters find event gets them involved in community BY BRYAN TRUDE ISSAQUAH/SAMMAMISH REPORTER
SPORTS | Eagles survive Wolf attack [12]
The family that scares together, stays together. The Mullins family came to Sammamish from California in 2011. Mark, an employee at Microsoft, and his wife Sherri, heard about an event held every October called "Nightmare at Beaver Lake." In 2012, they took their daughters, Danielle, now 15, and Kaylee, now 13, to see the annual haunted house, presented by the Sammamish Rotary. "After going to [Nightmare], Danielle and Kaylee were really excited about it and wanted to volunteer the following year," Sherri said. "The girls wanted to volunteer with their friends, but they could not find anyone available, so I suggested we do it as a family." Now in their second year of volunteering, Mark and Danielle do makeup while Kaylee works in her second year as a show actor. Sherri, after acting last year with Kaylee — actors 12 or under have to
BRYAN TRUDE, Issaquah/Sammamish Reporter
Mark Mullins, right, applies makeup to an actor before a final dress rehearsal Oct. 16 at Beaver Lake. Mullins and the rest of his family are in their second year of volunteering for “Nightmare at Beaver Lake.” act with a parent — is working the ticket booth. "It ended up being a great family thing to do together," Sherri said. "It was also a great way for us to get involved in the community." Volunteer commitments for "Nightmare" can run for weeks on end, including the two weeks the show is in production. Between work, school, and other commitments, finding the time for an entire family to volunteer can be challenging, Sherri said, but it is a commitment that is "worth the time and effort.” "It is difficult to balance everything," Sherri said. "Homework has to be done
ahead of time on the days that Kaylee is acting because the acting shift can be five to six hours a night, depending on the crowds and the day of the week." While Mark and Danielle enjoy the creative side of making actors look like the dead, diseased and horrible creatures of the night, Kaylee just likes to scare people, according to Sherri, especially when she makes an adult scream. At the same time, the kids learn a valuable lesson about volunteering. "We think it is very important to volunteer. It teaches you that your time is SEE MULLINS, 16