School Board urges city to fund, implement safety improvements

Mercer Island School Board members have signed a letter urging the City Council to fund and implement additional safety improvements in the North Mercer complex area, which includes Mercer Island High School and Northwood Elementary.

The June 23 letter requests that the city make improvements to the south side of Southeast 42nd Street from 92nd to 86th Avenue Southeast, such as the installation of a sidewalk in order to allow students to safely access the raised crosswalk at 88th Avenue Southeast.

The board thanked the city in the letter for the transportation improvements being made this summer that will improve the safety of students traveling to and from Northwood Elementary School. These include:

• The addition of a dedicated left turn lane off of Southeast 40th Street onto 86th Avenue Southeast heading westbound;

• The sidewalk installation in the Madrona Crest neighborhood;

• The raised crosswalk installation at the intersection of Southeast 42nd Street and 88th Avenue Southeast;

• The installation of signage indicating 20 mph school zone within the appropriate areas surrounding Northwood and Mercer Island High School; and

• The new asphalt paved walkway to be constructed along the south side of Southeast 42nd Street from Island Crest Way to 85th Avenue Southeast.

The city is currently developing the 2017-2022 Transportation Improvement Plan. The City Council is expected to review and adopt the plan on July 5.

MISD sends Hazard Mitigation Plan to FEMA

The Mercer Island School Board unanimously approved authorization of the school district’s Hazard Mitigation Plan to be submitted to the Federal Emergency Management Agency at the board’s regular meeting Thursday.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency requires each local government entity to adopt a multi-hazard mitigation plan to remain eligible for future pre- or post-disaster mitigation funding.

The mitigation plan focuses on the natural hazards that pose the greatest threats to the people and facilities within the school district. For Mercer Island, earthquakes pose the greatest threat and is the primary focus of the plan. Other natural hazards that pose lesser threats are addressed briefly within the plan.

Mercer Island CFO Dean Mack commented that the Hazard Mitigation Plan was not just about the school district being prepared, but also every Island resident preparing their homes in the event of a natural hazard.

“We want to do our part to make the community aware of how important that is,” Mack said. “It isn’t a matter of if it will happen, it’s a matter of when it will happen. We all want to be ready when that day comes.”