Metro to survey Island riders

The city held a meeting on Thursday Dec. 4 at the Mercer Island Community and Event Center (MICEC) to discuss ideas on restoring Metro bus service to the Island.

“The meeting went well, but was lightly attended,” said Mayor Bruce Bassett.

Based on the input received at the meeting, Metro is developing an online survey about possible routes and times.

“We’ll encourage all Metro riders to complete that survey, then sort out a plan based on the survey results,” Bassett said. “I expect it’ll be January when we get to that point.”

Investigation of recent fires on East Mercer Way

There have been a rash of residential structural fires recently on East Mercer Way, and fire investigations have revealed the causes, said battalion chief Les Kenworthy.

Fires on East Mercer Way are more difficult than others to fight, due to the steep hills and narrow driveways leading to many of the homes. The Mercer Island Fire Department has a special, smaller truck that it uses in certain cases.

“It’s difficult at best to get to those homes,” Kenworthy said. “It’s very different from the grid of city streets.”

A blaze at the 5600 block of East Mercer Way in August was caused by an extension cord issue in the garage, and spread to the house.

At the 6400 block, a fire that started in the kitchen spread to the attic on Oct. 15. It involved approximately 10 percent of the structure on the main floor and approximately 90 percent of the attic space.

In late November, a residential structure fire was reported at 4300 block of East Mercer Way. The homeowners had a fire the night before, in a pit in their wood gazebo, which is attached to the house. The gazebo and deck caught on fire, and the flames eventually spread to the attic.