City’s bus routes may be on the chopping block
April 9, 2013
Metro Transit released a report April 1 that revealed the possibility of cutting Issaquah routes should legislative funding dry up.
With 65 bus routes throughout the county in danger of being canceled and another 86 having their services reduced, the report essentially served as a reminder for the eventual expiration of the car tab tax passed as a stop gap measure to continue Metro Transit support. The 2012 Service Guidelines Report measured and analyzed transit service based on measures of productivity, geographic value, social equity and ridership. It determined that the current cost model was unsustainable.
Fred Butler enters race for Issaquah mayor
January 22, 2013
Fred Butler, a City Council stalwart for 13 years and a voice in important debates about the future of Issaquah, entered the race for mayor Jan. 17.
Fred Butler
The contest could hinge on the vision for the decades ahead, as city leaders seek to position Issaquah for redevelopment and attract more jobs to the community.
Butler, 72, served on the council at major junctures in recent history, as members debated the defunct Southeast Bypass road link, how to preserve forested Park Pointe on Tiger Mountain and, late last year, a 30-year redevelopment blueprint called the Central Issaquah Plan.
“We are in the process of evolving from a small town to a small city, moving from suburban to urban,” he said in a Jan 17 interview. “Because I’ve been involved in a lot of the planning and the development of the urban villages and the Central Issaquah Plan, I believe I’m in a pretty good position to help implement the direction that we are going in.”
Fred Butler launches campaign for Issaquah mayor
January 17, 2013
NEW — 6 p.m. Jan. 17, 2013
Fred Butler, a City Council stalwart for 13 years and a voice in important debates about the future of Issaquah, entered the race for mayor Thursday.
Fred Butler
The contest could hinge on the vision for the decades ahead, as city leaders seek to position Issaquah for redevelopment and attract more jobs to the community.
Butler, 72, served on the council at major junctures in recent history, as members debated the defunct Southeast Bypass road link, how to preserve forested Park Pointe on Tiger Mountain, and late last year, a 30-year redevelopment blueprint called the Central Issaquah Plan.
City OKs buildings up to 125 feet tall in business district
December 25, 2012
Redevelopment plan calls for more than 7,000 residences
City leaders raised the building height limit to 125 feet in the business district and raised the stakes for redevelopment in the decades ahead.
The roadmap to redevelopment — a document called the Central Issaquah Plan — also creates a framework to add more than 7,000 residences on about 1,000 acres stretched along Interstate 90.
In a series of decisions reached Dec. 17 after years spent re-envisioning the business district, a relieved City Council adopted the Central Issaquah Plan, but delayed action on a key piece until at least April.
“It’s the right plan at the right time,” Councilman Fred Butler said. “It will not happen overnight, but when the time is right, we will be ready.”
Expect reduced transit service on Christmas
December 23, 2012
NEW — 6 p.m. Dec. 23, 2012
Expect reduced transit service from Christmas Eve until after 2013 arrives, as King County Metro Transit and Sound Transit adjust schedules for the holidays.
Metro Transit operates on holiday and reduced weekday schedules Christmas week and during the New Year’s holidays.
The agency operates on reduced weekday bus service Monday, Christmas Eve, and on a Sunday schedule for Christmas. Then, transit goes to reduced weekday bus service from Wednesday to Friday.
Using a limited schedule over holiday periods from November through January is estimated to save Metro Transit about $1 million each year. The agency typically experiences a drop of about 15 percent in ridership during the holiday week.
City Council could delay part of Central Issaquah Plan
December 12, 2012
NEW — 10 a.m. Dec. 12, 2012
City leaders recommended Tuesday to delay the implementation of important development rules in a long-term plan to transform the business district from strip malls and parking lots to a dense urban hub.
In the last public meeting for the proposed Central Issaquah Plan before the document reaches the City Council for consideration, a council committee called for more time to refine and review the design and development standards outlined in the 30-year blueprint for redevelopment.
The design and development standards set rules for buildings, community spaces, landscaping, signage and more.
Overall, Council Land & Shore Committee members forwarded to the full council the four pieces of legislation to enact the Central Issaquah Plan. The full council is scheduled to consider the legislation and listen to public input Dec. 17.
Sound Transit alters Issaquah bus route
November 13, 2012
Sound Transit bus riders on Route 554 between Seattle and Issaquah should prepare for a route change in downtown Seattle.
The regional transit agency rerouted buses on Route 554 and other routes to a bus stop at Fourth Avenue, just north of Pike Street and adjacent to Westlake Park. The change went into effect Nov. 5 to help speed evening rush-hour trips.
Officials closed the former bus stop at Fourth Avenue and Union Street to accommodate a change on Route 522 between Seattle and Woodinville.
Transit planners said the change should save several minutes getting out of downtown Seattle during evening rush hours.
Sound Transit alters Issaquah bus route to speed rush-hour trips
November 3, 2012
NEW — 6 a.m. Nov. 3, 2012
Sound Transit bus riders on Route 554 between Seattle and Issaquah should prepare for a route change in downtown Seattle.
The regional transit agency rerouted buses on Route 554 and other routes to a bus stop at Fourth Avenue, just north of Pike Street and adjacent to Westlake Park. The change goes into effect Monday to help speed evening rush-hour trips.
Officials closed the former bus stop at Fourth Avenue and Union Street to accommodate a change on Route 522 between Seattle and Woodinville.
Transit planners said the change should save several minutes getting out of downtown Seattle during evening rush hours.
The change is a result of changes to Regional Express Route 522. Planners said Route 522 buses should turn right onto Pike Street from Fourth Avenue, and use the Pike Street entrance to the Interstate 5 express lanes in the afternoon.
The route’s last stop downtown is on Pike Street just west of Sixth Avenue.
Gubernatorial hopefuls support hatcheries, parks
October 23, 2012
Democrat Jay Inslee and Republican Rob McKenna clashed in a recent series of debates, but the candidates vying to serve as Washington’s next governor share similar positions on local issues, such as support for the state parks system.
Jay Inslee
Rob McKenna
The race at the state level is focused on the candidates’ policies on education and transportation — hot topics on the docket as Inslee and McKenna met in recent weeks.
The Issaquah Press asked the candidates about funding for state parks, salmon restoration and growth management — key concerns in Issaquah and the surrounding area.
Next King County sheriff faces tough decisions to reform agency
October 16, 2012
The contest to lead the King County Sheriff’s Office could hinge on a series of audits into how the agency operates.
The sheriff oversees a budget of about $150 million and about 1,000 employees, and leads the largest local police organization in the state after the Seattle Police Department.
John Urquhart
Steve Strachan
The contentious race pits Sheriff Steve Strachan, a former Kent police chief, against John Urquhart, a former sheriff’s office sergeant and spokesman.
King County Council members appointed Strachan as sheriff in April, not long after former Sheriff Sue Rahr resigned to lead the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission, or state police academy.
Though the election is to fill the Rahr’s unexpired term through 2013, the next sheriff faces a landmark effort to reform the agency in response to audits critical of policies put into place under Strachan’s predecessors.
Strachan, a SeaTac resident, served as a police chief and state legislator in Minnesota before accepting the Kent post in 2006. In the Minnesota Legislature, he helped pass legislation to reduce the blood-alcohol limit to 0.08 percent. Rahr tapped Strachan as the chief deputy, or No. 2 spot, at the sheriff’s office in early 2011.
