City news in Mercer Island.
National Night Out is Tuesday
The city of Mercer Island will be hosting its eighth annual National Night Out from 5-8 p.m. Tuesday in the Sculpture Park along Sunset Highway in Town Center. There will be hot dogs and live music from Citizen of the Year Nancy Stewart.
This year will mark the 33rd National Night Out event across the U.S. National Night Out is an organized crime prevention and preparedness event, and will involve over 14,000 communities from all 50 states. Locally, there are approximately 70 cities and counties in Washington state participating in the event, including several cities on the Eastside.
National Night Out brings neighbors together not only to heighten crime prevention awareness and family emergency preparedness, but also to strengthen neighborhood spirit and community partnerships.
Neighbors get reintroduced to one another, connect names with faces and become acquainted with city officials.
Island Crest Way resurfacing begins
Last Monday, a 10-week public works project began on Island Crest Way to improve storm drainage and roadway infrastructure for half a mile between Southeast 40th Street and Merrimount Drive. Minor traffic impacts may occur from time to time, but one lane will always be open in each direction as work progresses.
Near the end of the project in late September, the city’s contractor will grind down this entire section of Island Crest Way, and then perform a full-width asphalt repaving to smooth out the surface that was impacted by excavation work last summer.
Updates will be posted on the project webpage at www.mercergov.org/ICWresurfacing2016.
Public wants I-90 updates
After receiving “increased questions” on mobility issues, both during the East Link light rail construction period and after the rail system is complete, the Mercer Island City Council decided to allocate more resources to communication and public outreach.
The city of Mercer Island has been negotiating with Sound Transit and the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) over the closing of the Interstate 90 center lanes for East Link light rail construction and operation.
The community’s goal is to retain access to the HOV lanes going across the bridge to Seattle and secure commuter parking. The city has been engaging key representatives to understand and respect Mercer Island’s historic agreements. This effort included sending Mayor Bruce Bassett to meetings in Washington, D.C. a few weeks ago and hiring a consultant, Washington2Advocates, as well as legal and engineering resources.
The city hopes to post these agreements on its website, along with a Q and A or FAQ page.
“The community really cares about this topic and interest is growing,” said Assistant City Manager Kirsten Taylor.
The center lanes are scheduled to close in mid-2017.
