Meeting Notes - May 15th, 2018

1. Lieutenant Brouelette stopped by and reminded us that car break ins are on the rise and to call 911 if you observer an incident.
2. Sound Transit Project Director for Bus Rapid Transit, Paul Cornish presented information about regional transportation plans, including the NE 85th Street transit project:
   1. I-405 Master Plan was developed in 2002. At that time, Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) was decided on as the high-capacity transit system.
   2. I-405 and SR 522 will have BRT in 2024. There will be a parking garage, a new fleet of buses, and a new operations and maintenance facility. This is a result of the Sound Transit 3 ballot measure.  
      1. On I-405, buses will run every 10 minutes in peak time, 15 minutes in off-peak, with up to 19 hours of bus service on weekdays and 17 hours on weekends.
      2. As an example of the estimated time savings using BRT, Bellevue to South Renton in 2016 takes 48 minutes. It is predicted to take 24 minutes with the Bus Rapid Transit.
      3. There will be off-board fare collection; this means passengers pay on the platforms before they get on the bus. There will be ticket vending machines for people that don’t have ORCA cards.
      4. Sound Transit is in the process of deciding if electric buses are feasible for this project.
      5. The 405 interchange at NE 85th will be redeveloped and will a new Bus Rapid Transit station. The plan is to lower NE 85th Street while the interchange will be new layer that connects to 405 above.
   3. New parking garages will be added at Kingsgate (600 stalls), Renton, and on SR 522.
   4. Go to www.soundtransit.org/i5brt to sign up for alerts. Email [email protected] with questions and comments.
   5. There is a separate project to put bus lanes on NE 85th Street that would speed up travel times.
3. Marina Singh and Zach Smith from Kirkland’s newest apartment building, Voda, gave a presentation and brought Trophy cupcakes (thank you, Voda!):
   1. Apartment details:
      1. Voda is adjacent to the downtown transit station on the site of the former Antique mall. The address is 207 Park Lane.
      2. There are 128 apartments total with studios, one and two bedrooms. 97% of the apartments have balconies. All have air conditioning. Amenities include a fitness center, 24 hour package concierge system, pet wash, and a grocery delivery fridge. They have partnered with the Heathman Hotel’s Trellis restaurant to have room service available to apartments.
      3. The first residents took occupancy in March. 33% of the building is leased to-date.
   2. Retail and parking details:
      1. Banner Bank is going to move to one of their retail spaces. There are two additional retail spaces that don’t have signed leases yet.
      2. There are 1.4 assigned parking spaces per apartment and designated spaces for visitor parking.
      3. 47 paid, public parking on the retail level is open from 5am – midnight. $1 per hour or $10 to park overnight.
   3. This Saturday, May 19th, Voda is hosting an Open House from 11:30AM – 2:30PM with live music and refreshments. You are invited!
4. Crossing Kirkland event:
   1. This is a city-wide block party that takes place on the Cross Kirkland Corridor on September 8th from 11am – 4pm. Moss Bay is hosting a station near the Google Campus.
   2. There were 1500 participants last year. There are family-friendly activities, food trucks, and games. A new addition this year is to have musicians stationed at different points along the trail.
   3. If you are interested in volunteering to help host our station, email [email protected].  
5. Neighborhood Safety grants: Our project (crosswalk at Marina Park) is the first one "below the line" of funded projects, so if the higher-ranked projects don't use up the entire grant funding, we will get the crosswalk. More information can be found at http://www.kirklandwa.gov/depart/CMO/Neighborhood_Services/NSP.htm
6. Announcements:
   1. ​KAN Update
      1. Please take the biennial Community Survey to gauge community attitudes about the quality of life in Kirkland, priorities for the future and satisfaction with City government and services.  The survey is open until May 21st at https://www.research.net/r/2018KirklandCommunitySurvey
      2. Take the Kirkland transit implementation plan survey by June 11th to share your feedback about improving transit in Kirkland. https://ktip.participate.online/ 
      3. The State of the City address is planned for June 11th. The location has yet to be announced.
      4. Council passed a resolution to start a conversation about gun safety and community safety. There will be a town hall meeting that has yet to be scheduled.
      5. Work begins this month to install traffic signals at 6th Street and Kirkland Way and also at 6th Street and 9th Avenue South.
7. We voted to approve the slate of candidates for Moss Bay’s Neighborhood Association as follows: Chair – Aimee Voelz; Co-Chair – Amanda Judd; Treasurer – Leslie Keller. We have an open position for Secretary. If you are interested in an office or would just like to be more involved in the Association’s planning and events, email [email protected].