Mercer Island Reporter, September 02, 2015

Page 1

REPORTER

Mercer Island www.mi-reporter.com

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2015 WEDNESDAY, MARCH2,20, 2013| |75¢ 75¢

Islanders organize to ‘protect parks’

A green system wrapped in steel

First day of school is Tuesday, Sept. 8 With a late Labor Day on Monday Sept. 7, school will begin for the Mercer Island School District on Sept. 8. Islanders are asked to watch for families and students at bus stops and walking to school. The elementary schools are hosting a “Meet the Teacher” day at 3 p.m. tomorrow, Sept. 3 at all schools. For information, visit www. mercerislandschools.org.

Goal, and members, similar to Concerned Citizens for Mercer Island Library By Katie Metzger

First Islander home football game is Friday

The Second Annual Art UnCorked event presents an evening of wine tasting, art, music and food beginning at 6 p.m. Sept. 11, in the heart of downtown Mercer Island, at the Outdoor Sculpture Gallery along Sunset Highway at S.E. 78th Street. New this year is an early entry “Meet the Winemaker” hour sponsored by Aljoya, from 5 to 6 p.m. Contact the Chamber of Commerce at 206-232-3404 for more information.

life Have the ! you want

By Katie Metzger

kmetzger@mi-reporter.com

To help transit riders find parking quickly and reliably, Sound Transit is considering offering permit parking at its busiest lots and garages — including the Mercer Island Park and Ride — starting in 2016. Certain spaces would be reserved for permit holders until 9:30 a.m. Monday through Friday, though at least 50 percent of parking spots at each location would

remain free and available for transit riders without permits. Permits would be awarded on a firstcome, first-serve basis, with no local preference — though many Islanders are asking for that. City officials have long talked about the need for “designated Mercer Island resident parking.” It is one of the bargaining chips from the city’s 2004 Memorandum of Understanding with Sound Transit. Some have questioned whether or not the city can buy back the lot, which was funded with federal money, from Sound Transit. In 2013, Sound Transit introduced a pilot project to test permit parking at a few high demand Park and Rides: Mukilteo Station, Issaquah Transit Center, Sumner

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REPORTER

Plan ahead

Sound Transit to evaluate issuing permits to residents at busy commuter lots

PARKS | PAGE 2

Mercer Island

The Mercer Island Visual Arts League (MIVAL) is hosting an artist reception at its gallery, 2836 78th Ave. S.E. Enjoy the opening of “Art, Art, Art” with light refreshments and meet the artists. Event is at 5 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 3.

Permits for Park and Ride lot to be vetted

Station and Tukwila International Boulevard Station. Riders could apply for a space and pay a nominal fee — $5-$33 quarterly for HOV/SOV respectively, equivalent to $0.08-$0.53 a day — and in return would be guaranteed a parking space before 9:30 a.m. After that, the spaces reverted to general parking. Since the results of the pilot, which ended last summer, were encouraging, Sound Transit will soon ask the Board to proceed with an expanded program. The Mercer Island Park and Ride usually fills up by 7:30 a.m. It is one of the most-used park-andrides in the county, with every spot filled even after a 2006-2008 expansion of the lot, which the Mercer Island City Council voted to keep from being larger. “Sound Transit came prepared to expand the lot — they had enough money to add hundreds of stalls — but the Council opted for a smaller expansion,” former City

STARTING AT $39/YEAR

MIVAL reception

Mary L. Grady/Staff Photo

These 172 foot-long galvanized pipes along S.E. 40th Street, are part of a state of the art stormwater detention and infiltration system at the new Northwood Elementary School. A large rain garden will be planted on top. Layers of sand and gravel beneath the perforated pipes will allow water to drain slowly into the soil.

A group of concerned citizens is drafting an initiative for consideration by voters to protect the city’s parks and open space, which they perceive as threatened. First, there was a proposal to build a commuter parking lot on a hill found to have been included in Luther Burbank Park’s Master Plan. Then was the sale of Clarke Beach land to an encroaching neighbor who didn’t know that his garden crossed over the park border. Recently, it’s the consideration

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The Mercer Island High School Islander football team will meet the Braves of Bishop Blanchett High School at 5 p.m., Friday Sept. 4, at Islander Stadium. See page 12 for a preview of the fall football season.

kmetzger@mi-reporter.com

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