MERCER ISLAND REPORTER
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Safe Routes planned, but not without opposition Traffic uncertainties pit deputy mayor against funding capital projects By Joseph Livarchik
jlivarchik@mi-reporter.com
Assistant City Engineer Anne Tonella-Howe and Mercer Island School District Project Manager Brandy Fox presented to City Council and School Board members the capital projects supporting Safe Routes to School, a program encouraging walking and biking to school in the densely populated megablock for the north Mercer Island School District campus, on Oct. 8. Seven projects are included in the plan, with completion dates ranging from this past year to 2018. They are: — The gravel shoulder
along 84th Avenue S.E. from S.E. 39th Street to upper Luther Burbank Park, which was completed last spring. — Improvements along 88th Avenue S.E. from S.E. 42nd to S.E. 44th and on S.E. 43rd Street between 88th Avenue S.E. and 89th Avenue S.E. also were completed this year. — Two phases for the Madrona Crest sidewalk. The first, along 86th Avenue S.E. from S.E. 40th Street to S.E. 39th Street is planned for the spring of 2016. The second phase, currently unfunded and targeted for 2018, would run from S.E. 39th street to S.E. 36th Street. — Sidewalk landings and curb ramps are scheduled to be constructed in 2016 at the S.E. 40th Street intersection with 88th Avenue S.E., Gallagher Hill Road and 92nd Avenue S.E.
Rotary students of the month for October member of the girls swim and water polo teams. Rorem also participates Mercer Island High in Islander Crew and the School seniors Alison Student Leadership Rorem and Volunteer program. Jackson Caputo Outside of were the Rotary school, Rorem Club’s Islanders works as a swim of the Month for instructor and October. lifeguard at Mary Rorem is a Wayte Pool. She member of the is an active volNational Honor unteer at Holy Society, a peer Allison Rorem Trinity Lutheran, mentor with where she serves the personalas a Sunday ized learning School teacher and a vacaprogram, plays French tion Bible school counhorn in band and melselor. Rorem is a group lophone for concert and leader with Young Life, a marching band, and is a By Reporter Staff
— Pathway construction for pedestrians on S.E. 42nd Street, to complete a missing section between Island Crest Way and 86th Avenue S.E., planned for 2016. — Widening of the Southeast 40th Street corridor at 86th Avenue Southeast, east of Island Crest Way, to provide a dedicated left-turn lane, planned for 2017. — Improvement of the walkway on the east side of 88th Avenue S.E., north of S.E. 40th Street to S.E. 36th Street, planned for 2016. Deputy Mayor Dan Grausz made no bones about his opposition to the projects, saying there were too many traffic unknowns ahead with the closure of the center lanes of I-90 in 2017, and the ongoing negotiations with Sound Transit on how to address cut-through traffic. “I’ve made it very clear
WyldLife club leader and He is a volunteer for the also volunteers with the Little Sisters Foundation, National Charity League. and has helped start a She loves animals, bakmobile library program, ing and knitting, and is the run a college integration maker of MI headbands. program and partner Little The daughter of Brendan Sisters with the clean water and Kelly Rorem, she plans organization Splash. As a to attend a freshman, Caputo university and created a 501(c)3 study nursing. to raise money for Caputo is a students in Costa member of the Rica. He enjoys National Honor skiing and in 2013, Society, is a was a national football captain championship at MIHS, has qualifier. also played The son of Lisa lacrosse and and Mark Caputo, Jackson Caputo wrestled at he plans to attend MIHS, and was college and study a member of the economics, politiRotary Club committee. cal science or history.
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District, music program to discuss scenarios Oct. 22 By Joseph Livarchik
jlivarchik@mi-reporter.com
Following a Bellevue School Board vote to approve a conditional 8:30 a.m. high school start time, Mercer Island School Board member Dave Myerson pressed his board colleagues for next steps in their decisionmaking process for later high school start times. “I fear time is going to be of the essence,” he said at the board’s regular meeting Oct. 8. “We’re going to have to make the decision fairly quickly and we’re going to have to incorporate some community input at some time.” The district had been monitoring how the situation would play out in neighboring communities like Bellevue. The joint steering committee, created to advise both the Mercer Island and Bellevue school dis-
tricts, recommended to the Mercer Island School Board in June that no changes be made to high school bell times. Their recommendation came after six months of research and community outreach, with the committee stating in its report that the “benefits are outweighed by undesirable consequences that would impact the large majority of our high school students.” A survey of over 1,200 respondents taken by the committee, gathering input from high school students, staff members and parents, showed 52 percent of those surveyed were opposed to moving back start times to 8:30 a.m. for the 2016-17 school year. Still, the issue was pushed by Myerson and board member Adair Dingle for further discussion, citing a recommendation published by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) in 2014.
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to the council and I’ll make it very clear to the School Board, I intend to fight this project next year with a new council and will adamantly fight this project when we get around to dealing with funding it,” Grausz said. “Right now, we don’t have any facts upon which to base this decision.” School Board President Brian Emanuels said the projects were planned to avoid future traffic issues and were based on traffic analyses conducted as part of the application process for building the new school. “I feel like we should get this work done before the school opens,” he said. “Let’s get all this work done next summer, open up the new school with the reconfigured intersection and all the safe routes to school, and ease the pain on our community.”
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