Sound Transit Prop. 1 pays for more buses
October 14, 2008
Every day, Laura Hernandez takes Sound Transit’s 554 express bus from the Issaquah Highlands Park & Ride to Bellevue Community College and back, then hops aboard
Laura Hernandez, a resident of the Summer Ridge neighborhood, waits for a bus at the Issaquah Highlands Park & Ride. She commutes from Sammamish to Bellevue Community College every weekday. Photo by By J.B. Wogan.
King County Metro Transit’s 269 bus back to 228th Avenue Southeast. Then, she walks to her home in the Summer Ridge neighborhood.
“It requires a lot of planning to take the bus,” she said, while waiting at the park & ride. In winter, the waits for each bus can be excruciating with the rain and wind.
“Then, I’m cold, wet and cranky,” she said.
Voters decide several propositions Nov. 4
October 14, 2008
Besides deciding important races for state and local office, voters also have some big propositions to consider in the Nov. 4 general election.
These include a measure to open high-occupancy-vehicle lanes Read more
Schools Foundation fundraiser luncheon goal to top $400,000
October 14, 2008
On Oct. 16, community members, teachers and Issaquah School District officials will fill the community center in hopes of raising more than $400,000 for education.
City halts storm water discharges to aquifer
October 14, 2008
Issaquah has stopped discharging storm water to the Lower Issaquah Valley Aquifer, at least temporarily, while a dispute over possible contamination of the aquifer is resolved.
On Oct. 1, the city stopped Read more
Tokul Creek Hatchery may remain open after all
October 14, 2008
Rooms full of angry anglers are being credited with perhaps turning the tide against the proposed closure of the Tokul Creek Hatchery in Fall City.
Officials with the state Department of Fish and Wildlife now say they are reversing course and will recommend the hatchery remain open.
One school permit issued, another on hold
October 14, 2008
After months of waiting, school district officials have received a permit from the city of Sammamish to begin demolishing and building Skyline High School.
Land swap raises traffic concerns
October 14, 2008
It was hard enough to orchestrate a three-way land preservation deal for the Park Pointe parcel on Tiger Mountain, but now comes the task of making it work. Creativity is the necessary ingredient, especially when it comes to traffic. Read more
To The Editor
October 14, 2008
Transportation fee
The bypass was not built, but downtown stores are still paying for it
It has come to light that (a) The empty storefronts on Front Street are due to the very high Issaquah transportation fees like $100,000 and (b) 40 percent of the fee is an item noted as The Read more
Press Editorial
October 14, 2008
Proposition 1 on your November ballot will get you a half-cent-per-dollar increase in sales tax. That’s for sure, and immediate. Along the way, a new bus route or another bus for an existing route might come your way and hopefully will be going the way you want it to. And, someday far, far away — maybe in 20 years — you might live long enough to take a bus from here to Bellevue, where you can catch a ride on a light rail train to Seattle.
Sound Transit has sweetened the pot in just about every city in three counties to get voters to say yes. Issaquah would get additional bus runs on Sound Transit express buses from the Issaquah Transit Center and the Highlands Park & Ride to downtown Seattle. Voters must decide if that’s enough to justify a sales tax increase to raise $17.9 billion for the bus/light rail package.
We vote no. Prop. 1 will only put 20 percent of its tax collections toward more buses.
It just may be that the notion of light rail in the Puget Sound region is too late. The only traffic solution we envision is one that gives drivers the option to use their very own driveway as a personal park & ride. We need collector buses that go into neighborhoods then connect to buses to take people where they need to go when they need to get there.
Voters thought they’d gotten the message to Sound Transit when they rejected a similar proposal only a year ago. The cost is too great — King County would have one of the highest sales tax rates in the nation — and then wait too long for light rail to kick in.
Another traffic related ballot issue is Initiative 985. It seeks to open carpool and bus lanes to all traffic except during peak hours — from 6-9 a.m. and from 3-6 p.m. weekdays. While it’s a tempting notion, the change comes with a price tag. Funds would be diverted from state taxes already in place. But, most of all, there is no clear evidence that it would make much difference in drive times. Vote no.
Jarrett, Baker spar for open 41st District Senate seat
October 14, 2008
As a young boy growing up in Montana, Fred Jarrett dreamed of being a pilot. Visual acuity kept him out of the cockpit, but he did go to work as a manager at The Boeing Co.
