Aubrey Davis Park Master Plan Starts Soon

Aubrey Davis Park

Aubrey Davis Park is a 90+ acre, 2.8 mile long recreation and transportation facility straddling Interstate 90 on Mercer Island.  The land is owned by the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) and the City of Mercer Island (City).  A key facility of the park is the Mountains to Sound Trail which links Bellevue and Seattle.  The park facilities are approximately 25 years old.  Capital reinvestment needs, regional growth, demographic trends, the construction of East Link light rail and King County Wastewater’s North Mercer Sewer Upgrade have contributed to the need for planning services for this park.  WSDOT and the City are jointly developing this master plan, with the City acting as lead agency.  

You can help shape the master plan by participating in surveys and meetings. To be added to the plan’s email list, send an email to paul.west@mercergov.org.

Volunteers needed Sept. 25-27 to count people who walk and ride bikes

Each year, the number of people who choose to walk, ride bicycles or take other active travel means as their mode of transportation is increasing in Washington. How do we know? Volunteers annually count the number of people who walk or ride bicycles at selected locations during a three-day survey. For those who would like to help, volunteer registration is now open for this year’s survey, which starts Tuesday, Sept. 25.  

This data informs the transportation decision making at all levels.  Volunteers are vital to the success of this project:  about 400 people are needed for the count.  For the 2017 count, volunteers tallied more than 63,500 people biking and walking in communities across Washington. In 2017, the number of people who walked, biked or used other active modes increased 4 percent over the 2016 count.

NIM's Information Booth at MI Farmers' Market Updates Public on City's Plans

Neighbors in Motion held a information booth at last weeks Mercer Island Farmers' Market to advise residents about signage improvements in the city's North-South pedestrian/bicycle route.   A final section of the route or "Missing Link" in front of Island Park School is scheduled for design via public process next year in the city's Transportation Improvement Plan.   

NIM will have another booth at the September 30 market.  NIM is grateful for Mercer Island Community Fund's sponsoring this effort.  

Winners and Losers in Seattle Dockless Bike Share Pilot

Uber and Lyftare already in Seattle. But they might be arriving anew, this time with smallermotors and fewer wheels.

The two ride-hailing giants are among three companies that each applied for a permit to operate dockless bike shares on Seattle’s streets — which is to say, free-standing bikes that riders can pick up with just a few taps on their phone screens.

JUMP (owned by Uber), Lyft and LimeBike (who has been operating here for the last year) are all seeking to operate bike shares in the city over the next year, the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) said Friday.

Lime Bikes is currently running a pilot on Mercer Island.

Using Bike Share? Check the brake cables before you ride.

Video of a vandal cutting bike share brake cables in Sodo.  Seattle police investigating. 

Basics for Aspiring Bike Commuters.

Have you always wanted to be a bikecommuter — but needed a little help when it comes to suiting up and facing Seattle traffic?

 Meet StarterKit from Seattle Times, a gear guide for the rest of us. Think of it as a kinder, gentler introduction to the bare essentials you’ll need to take on the Northwest’s most popular sporty hobbies.

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MI Chip Sealing Update

Chip Sealing update

On Monday and Tuesday, chip seals were placed on 78^th Ave (SE 34^th to SE 39^th), SE 53^rd Place (ICW to EMW), EMW (SE 68^th to WMW), and SE 68^th/SE 70^th Street (84^th Ave to WMW).  Today, all of those locations were swept to pick up loose gravel.

Next week (Aug 20^th), crews will return to fog seal all of these locations.  A fog seal is a thin coat of liquid asphalt which helps with chip adhesion.  It will also turn the road black.  Additional sweeping will occur ahead of the fog sealing (to pick up loose rock).  Fog seal needs time to dry, so crews will likely work in one- to two- block increments of a single lane, let it dry, and then move on.  I expect the fog sealing will take 4 to 5 days to complete all locations.

The week of Aug 27^th we will install new pavement markings.  This will complete the project.

Depending on rock shedding, we may need to sweep the locations one more time in mid-September.

Clint Morris 

Street Engineer