Kirkland Library Meeting Room John Alberti called the meeting to order and provided agendas and copies of the minutes from our last meeting. David Allen, Kirkland's Pedestrian/Bike/Transit Coordinator was our first guest. Dave gave an overview of projects he is involved in. Safe School Walk routes is a pedestrian issue facing our children. The city studied a half mile radius around each of the seven Kirkland elementary schools for availability of sidewalks. Lakeview Elementary scored well with 91% of the routes having sidewalks, while Peter Kirk and Rose Hill schools had much lower scores of 58%. The goal of the city is to build the "missing links". The city has also created a sidewalk task force to deal with sidewalks that are not on school routes. Dave mentioned that the city has created a Bike and Pedestrian "Sounding Board" that is available on the city's web site. King County Metro car pool now has online matching of commuters who want to share rides at http://www.rideshareonline.com/ In addition the county has created a flexcar program, in which a person can join for a fee and then have access to cars that are available for an hourly fee located in downtown areas. For more info on flexcar and other Kirkland transportation initiatives visit the city's web site at: http://www.ci.kirkland.wa.us/depart/pw/gettin.htm Bob Wicks spoke next on athletic events planned for the Taste of Kirkland, Sept 14 and 15. There will be new triathlon, a half marathon, and also a 5K run/walk. Bob thinks that with our natural setting for such events, they could become national champion caliber within a few years. It was proposed that we vote our approval of this event and it was approved by a unanimous vote. Keith Maehlum of West Water Real Estate Services presented a preliminary proposal to develop their property at the corner of State Street and Kirkland Avenue. The property is currently occupied by a former car dealership building at 75 State and a bicycle shop on Kirkland Ave. Part of this property is also on a list of possible sites for the new Metro Transit Center. West Water's proposal is for a 5 story retail / apartment project, with about 80 units. Keith also mentioned that the turn lane may be closed that cuts behind the triangle where the "Mountain Comrades" sculpture is located, as well as 1rst Ave. S. adjacent to the West Water property. West Water is working with a committee formed of representatives of the Moss Bay Neighborhood Association, Portsmith Condominiums, St. John's Episcopal Church and West Water to help guide the project. Ellen McMahon mentioned that she felt that the proposal was a strategic move on the part of West Water to be promoting this project at this time. There will be public meetings on the project and a direct mailing to closeby residents. Janice King advised that any resident who was interested in this project should file to be a "concerned party" when the public notice of the project was issued. John Alberti told us that he is moving to Snohomish County and will no longer be able to serve as co chair of the Moss Bay Neighborhood Association. Laura Lee Pritt is also nearing the end of her term, so the group will need new people to step forward to take the reins. Glenn Peterson agreed to help John in looking for new people. Ellen McMahon said that the Neighborhood Connections program would be able to fund a $25,000 project in our neighborhood, and that we should be working on proposals for that. Comments are closed.
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