Sammamish Forum Sept. 10
September 8, 2009
By Administrator
Eastlake access unsafe for pedestrians
According to the Lake Washington School District, everyone within a one-mile radius is a “walker,” but the routes to walk to some public schools are not safe for pedestrians of any age.
In particular, walking to Eastlake High School from any direction is riddled with obstacles and traffic! Eastlake High School is in the center of Sammamish, an area with many shops, restaurants and soon a teen center!
I applaud the city of Sammamish on their decision to make the teen center reality at their last meeting. Now, we need to pay attention to details like traffic safety around Eastlake High School and the whole area.
Please remember to vote for active, knowledgeable candidates for City Council in November.
Some of the details that need to be addressed: The intersection of Northeast 8th Street and 228th Avenue Northeast needs a complete overhaul.
We also need more crosswalks on 8th.
Why? There are lots of destinations, but very inconvenient and dangerous routes.
Trying to cross Northeast 8th Street to get from Safeway to Saffron with its shops and restaurants is not convenient and not safe.
Lots of my neighbors walk, not just students.
Please let us make central Sammamish safer for pedestrians. I know there are municipal elections in November — four of seven council positions are up for election.
It is not enough to have great innovative ideas, we need people who are willing to put in the hours and attention to detail.
It takes great intelligence and patience to be a public official. I salute our candidates and hope Sammamish will get a great, cooperative council.
I would like to endorse Jack Barry, Don Gerend, Erica Tiliacos, Tom Vance for these positions in the hope that Sammamish will stay on track and be steadfastly future-oriented.
It takes a lot of work to get things done.
Katja May
Sammamish
Higher education must remain a priority
The 2009 Legislature dealt with our state’s fiscal crisis in a way that sought to avoid lasting harm to public higher education. However, a combination of deep budget cuts and steep tuition increases has led some to speculate we have crossed an important divide.
This biennium, four of our six baccalaureate institutions will receive more than 50 percent of their operating revenue from tuition and fees. In 2007-09, state support for these institutions averaged 64 percent of operating revenue.
Have we started down the path to a privatized funding model for our public higher education institutions? We hope not.
We need a serious discussion about the future of higher education and a reaffirmation of why it is a solid and necessary public investment.
Broad and affordable college access enables societies to compete in our increasingly complex and integrated world.
Many states and nations are making the investment to raise education levels among their citizens. But Washington is failing to meet this challenge.
Rather, we’re importing people with degrees to fill our best jobs. We need to do better.
The state’s master plan for higher education calls for a 40 percent annual increase in degree and certificate attainment by 2018.
We believe this goal is attainable, but we recognize much work will be needed.
A new system design plan authorized by the Legislature — the first in 30 years — will provide rational rules for growth to help expand higher education access to the communities and populations that need it most.
Now is not the time to sit on the sidelines of this important discussion.
We need advocates who can explain the importance of higher education to all of the people of the state.
Ann Daley, executive director
Washington Higher Education Coordinating Board
Goodbye, columnist
Thank you, Sarelyn – clearly your column has been the first one I looked for this past year in the Sammamish Review.
You have such charming wit and a wonderful way of looking at everyday life and I thoroughly enjoyed each article.
I hope these qualities remain with you – and benefit you – throughout your next adventures in life.
Take care and enjoy the next few years! You definitely should have a blog.
Dee Dee Rixe
Sammamish
Comments
One Response to “Sammamish Forum Sept. 10”
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Katja May’s call for a more pedestrian friendly central town center area deserves support, but her endorsement of Tom Vance and Erica Tiliacos for city council needs to be questioned.
Both Tom Vance and Erica Tiliacos, as members of the Planning Commission, have proposed policies that make our town center area an auto dependent, pedestrian unfriendly area of primarily single use nodes that encourage auto use and would force pedestrians to navigate busy streets at their risk.
Vance and Tiliacos are not friends of youth either. As Planning Commissioners, their proposed policies will delay any of the developments youth have asked for when asked what they would like to see in the town center.
Most recently, both Tom Vance and Erica Tiliacos have attempted to revamp current proposed ordinances for town center development that show they have little understanding of what pedestrian friendly means.
Support Jack Barry and Don Gerend, but stop there. Vance and Tiliacos want us and our kids in our cars driving on and off the plateau and from one single use area of our city to another.