Aug 1, 2018 | Vol. 13 | No. 31
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Aubrey Davis Park Master Planning Survey
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Part of the Aubrey Davis Park; click to take a user survey |
The Lid Park, the
boat launch, the
Greta Hackett sculpture garden, the Mountains to Sound trail - where do you go in
Aubrey Davis Park? The City of Mercer Island is about to create a new master plan for the park, but your input is needed. Visit an
online survey today and tell us
how you use the park. Please let us know how to contact you for future surveys and meetings; our planning effort begins this summer and runs through 2019.
Aubrey Davis Park is a 90-acre, 2.8-mile-long recreation and transportation facility straddling Interstate 90 on Mercer Island, created approximately 25 years ago. The land is owned by the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) and the City of Mercer Island. Capital reinvestment needs, regional growth, demographic trends, the construction of East Link light rail, and King County Wastewater's North Mercer Sewer Upgrade have all contributed to the need for master planning in this park.
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Rideshare Program Begins Phase 2 Pricing
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Click for more program information (photo: Seattle Times)
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Back in April 2018, the City launched a 6-month ride share pilot program to help commuters access the Mercer Island Park & Ride (8000 North Mercer Way) without the need for a personal vehicle. The popular program has delivered hundreds of rides in its first three months, allowing many new transit users to board an express bus towards Seattle or Bellevue rather than drive alone.
As it enters the second phase of the pilot period, the program will continue to offer the same on-demand service, but with adjusted pricing. Starting August 1, s
olo rides will now cost $5 per rider, but residents can still enjoy a $2 ride if they are willing to accept a shared ride. Uber riders will not need to adjust any settings; Lyft riders will need to enter new codes for Phase II of the pilot project:
2LYFTMI
for $2 shared rides, and 5LYFTMI for $5 classic rides (i.e. solo).
This program is one of many mobility solutions that the City is exploring to assist with "first-mile & last-mile" connections to regional transit. This adds commuter options, helps reduce reliance on Single Occupant Vehicles (SOV's), reduces congestion, and can lessen greenhouse gas emissions.
For more information or questions, contact
Kirsten Taylor, Senior Project Manager.
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Music in the Park, Aug 2
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Music in the Park; click to learn more
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The Parks and Recreation Department and the City's Arts Council are pleased to present the third concert of the FREE summer Music in the Park series. This week, it's the Joy Mills Band, on Thursday, August 2, from 7:00-8:30pm at Mercerdale Park. Learn more here.
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Sound Transit Work at Boat Launch
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A temporary suspended work deck will be installed above the Boat Launch area; click for more information about East Link construction |
Beginning as early as Monday, August 6, Sound Transit's contractor will begin mobilizing equipment and erecting fencing at the Mercer Island Boat Launch in support of seismic retrofit work for East Link light rail. Crews will use approximately 14 parking spaces for staging and construction, and will construct suspended work decks below the bridge in order to install steel stiffeners on the roadway's box girders; excavate around the bridge pier footings; and wrap the piers with fiber-reinforced polymer.
The project is expected to continue for several months, but access to remaining parking spaces and the boat launch ramp will be maintained throughout construction. For more information, contact the Sound Transit Community Outreach team at (206) 398-5465 or eastlink@soundtransit.org
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New West Mercer Way Mural Begins Aug 6
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A thumbnail sketch of the mural; check the Parks & Recreation
Department's
Facebook page for photos during installation
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If you're on West Mercer Way this month, be on the lookout for local artist Rachel Holloway who will bring new life to the area with a public art installation starting Monday, August 6. Holloway was selected in 2017 to design a mural for the retaining wall that faces I-90's on/off ramps at Exit 6. This project is one of many funded by the City's
1% For Public Art program.
Holloway has been a muralist, scenic artist, and production designer for the film industry for more than a decade. A fine artist by training, she has lived on the Island for several years, and her mural design, based on her own original painting titled
Darwin's Dream, aims to reflect the "the little magical pockets of nature here on the Island."
The artist and her assistants will erect temporary scaffolding; to maintain their safety, the sidewalk will be closed to pedestrians and the adjacent curb lane will coned off during mural production, which will last through the end of the month.
Please contact
Sarah Bluvas, Arts and Culture Coordinator, with any questions about this project.
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Fundraiser Bike Ride Crosses Island Aug 11
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Click to learn more about the route across Mercer Island
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The annual Obliteride fund-raising bicycle ride rolls through Mercer Island again on Saturday, August 11. About 2,500 participants are navigating routes ranging from 25-150 miles around Lake Washington and beyond, with a portion of the 50-mile race option traversing the Island (see map).
Every dollar raised from the event benefits the globally-recognized
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, whose mission is the elimination of cancer and related diseases as causes of human suffering and death. Home to three Nobel laureates and interdisciplinary teams of world-renowned scientists, the "Hutch" is a global leader in research to prevent, detect and treat cancer and other life-threatening diseases.
Residents will encounter bicyclists after about
8:30am on Saturday along East and West Mercer Ways, and are asked to accommodate the event; riders must follow all traffic laws.
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