South Lake Sammamish Update - September 12, 2005

In this issue: Roundabout Letter from the State DOT * Huge Community Garage Sale This Weekend * Issaquah For Katrina Relief * Fall SLSA Meeting September 29th

Roundabout Letter from the State Department of Transportation (WSDOT)

Huge backups at the roundabout have caused unprecedented unrest in our area. People have used every imaginable mechanism to express discontent, and politicians and government employees are scrambling to find solutions.

From: Lorena Eng
Sent: Monday, September 12, 2005 5:49 PM
To: Sims, Don; Briggs, Barbara
Cc: harold.taniguchi@metrokc.gov; david.irons@metrokc.gov
Subject: I-90 West Lake Sammamish Parkway Roundabout

Thank you for your email regarding the recently rebuilt roundabout at West
Lake Sammamish Parkway and Lakemont Boulevard. I apologize for the traffic backups and inconvenience that was the new design has caused. We know the traffic delays are frustrating and regret that congestion is making you late for work, school or other important activities. We agree that the backups are unacceptable and we are taking steps to fix the problem.

Our immediate response to try to help traffic flow more smoothly through the roundabout is to use flaggers during the morning rush hour. Our observation is that the use of flaggers on Monday cleared up traffic 30 minutes faster than what we experienced on the previous Friday without flaggers. We are also looking at other quick fix options such as striping changes that could help to alleviate the situation. At the same time, our engineers are working on plans for building a new right turn lane to directly connect westbound Lake Sammamish Parkway to northbound West Lake Sammamish Parkway.

We do not yet have a timeline or funding for this project, however, we will
keep your email address and send you that information when it becomes
available. We will also provide additional information on our website

www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/i90/SammamishRoundabout. The flyer
that we distributed this morning is attached.

Click to View Flyer that was distributed this morning (PDF Format)

Again, we acknowledge that our design made a congested intersection worse and we are working to correct the problem as quickly as possible.

Sincerely,

Lorena Eng
Regional Administrator, Northwest Region
Washington State Department of Transportation

Huge Community Garage Sale This Weekend

When: Saturday, September 17, Sunday, September 18th (Signs will be up 9 AM – 4 PM)

Where: Meerwood, South Cove and Greenwood Point

(Or anywhere nearby if you post a few signs of your own)

It's time once again for the annual neighborhood garage sale! Get out all that stuff you have been saving all year. All advertising and major signs will be provided for you, courtesy of your homeowner's association.

Clean out those garages
Collect and price your treasures
If needed, put out arrows directing people into your cul-de-sac

Hundreds come to this popular community sale each year!

Issaquah For Katrina Relief

Issaquah community leaders are working hard to pull together an integrated relief effort. Partners for this effort include: Issaquah Rotary, Issaquah Kiwanis, Issaquah School District, Issaquah Chamber of Commerce, City of Issaquah, Masonic Lodge of Issaquah, Issaquah Elks Club, The Issaquah Press, Local churches, Youth groups, and Individual citizens.

Together we can make a difference!

Mission statement: A coordinated community effort to meet emergency and redevelopment needs of an "adopted" city in the devastated Hurricane Katrina region with 100% of donations going directly to those needs.

You are invited to join the community effort to bring Katrina relief to an adopted city.

All donations are tax deductible and 100% of all funds will go direct to relief efforts.

ISSAQUAH FOR KATRINA RELIEF - A registered 501c3 organization #91-1223461

Send checks to:

Issaquah for Katrina Relief
P.O. Box 553
Issaquah, WA 98027

For information, contact Nancy Szeliga at the Issaquah Chamber of Commerce, nszeliga @ issaquahchamber.com .

Our fall meeting is scheduled for September 29th at the Library Resource Center on Newport Way. The main topic will be Annexation and the campaign we will run in favor of Issaquah Annexation and Assumption of Indebtedness. Stay tuned for more details.

If you aren't registered to vote or you are registered at your old address, you won't be able to vote on the Annexation issue. You can download a registration form from our web site: www.issaquahweb.org/slsa/