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Week of Mar. 13, 2006
Adopt-a-Road program is a great way to ‘spring’ into cleaning up your neighborhood
 This year will mark the 35th anniversary of Earth Day, an observance that was created to remind people worldwide of their shared responsibility to protect the planet. It falls on Saturday, April 22, but for some King County residents Earth Day is celebrated year round.
The King County Adopt-a-Road program debuted in 1992 as a way to pull together a corps of citizen volunteers to pick up litter and debris along roads in unincorporated areas of the county. It is managed by the King County Road Services Division.
Since the inception of a tracking program in 2001, Adopt-a-Road volunteers have filled 11,150 trash bags. To date, there are 474 miles of road adopted, and more than 32,000 volunteer shifts totaling 62,000 hours of cleanup service to the community.
One very busy group resides in the Skyway neighborhood, an unincorporated area east of Interstate 5 between Seattle and Renton. "Your Neighbors & Friends” – Adopt-a-Road Group #769 – originated in 2001 when Irana Hawkins asked a couple of neighbors to adopt a road with her so they could clean up litter near a local bus stop. Through word of mouth, 20 people came to the first meeting, and this group has been cleaning Skyway ever since.
Photo: pile of collected garbage"Your Neighbors & Friends" is one of the most prolific Adopt-a-Road groups, with more than 25 cleanups to their name. In addition to two yearly community-wide cleanups that involve the local fire station and members of the local Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) post, these volunteers perform frequent cleanups.
Last October, they organized a community cleanup that also served as a neighborhood get-together with food and fun. In one day, the group picked up: 25 bags of garbage; three bags of recyclable materials; and a towering pile of abandoned mattresses, sofas and other items destined for the transfer station.
Hawkins said the members of the Adopt-a-Road group have spun off into other enhancement projects.
“Some created a delightful mural for our bus stop; others created a community flower garden, which is now the site of tea parties and barbeques; others have removed graffiti; and others pick up litter and recyclable items daily,” she said. “A lesson I have learned is that you can never underestimate what people are willing to give.
“Furthermore, I am continuously aware of how all efforts, whether large or small, are equally important and truly do make a difference.”
Photo: Bags of collected garbageIf you are planning on making a difference this Earth Day and would like to participate through the Adopt-a-Road program, it’s not too early to get started. Volunteer groups can "adopt" a two-mile stretch of road by removing litter at least two times a year over a two-year period.
 Volunteers receive:
● A safety orientation from the coordinator,
● Safety equipment including hard hats, safety vests, gloves, trash
bags and road warning signs (see photos above),
● Two Adopt-a-Road signs located at either end of the adopted road
section recognizing you or your group,
● The chance to contribute to community beautification, and
● Recognition for a job well done.
Roads can be adopted by service organizations, businesses, or even families or individuals. You decide which section of road you want to clean up, and when you want to do it. Eligible roads must lie in unincorporated King County, must be approved by the county coordinator, and must not already be adopted by someone else.
To get an application form, call the Adopt-A-Road Coordinator at (206) 296-3807 or print out and mail in the on-line application form. Send in your name, address, day and evening phone number, and the road you are interested in adopting to the given address, and get ready.
The Adopt-a-Road website also has information about King County's Landscape Enhancement Program, which is an opportunity for volunteers to improve the esthetics of King County by adopting a plot of land and improving it’s appearance through litter pickup, weeding and sometimes, planting new vegetation.
The King County Road Services Division is scheduled to begin its roadside weed control program in unincorporated areas of the county and in the cities of Shoreline, Woodinville, Sammamish, Burien, Covington and Maple Valley beginning April 10, 2005. As part of the program, certified technicians will perform controlled herbicide spraying along some road shoulders through the summer to reduce safety hazards for pedestrians, motorists and bicyclists. The spraying will also control noxious weeds that are toxic to some animals and pose environmental risks to native vegetation. As in past years, residents who do not want crews to spray county right-of-way that abuts their property may post “owner will maintain” signs. Those residents, however, must sign an agreement with the county to maintain the right-of-way themselves. Maintenance agreements must be completed and returned to the Road Services Division before “owner will maintain” signs can be issued. Maintenance agreements should be received by the Road Services Division by April 7, 2006. The signs are once again being provided to property owners at no charge. The county has already sent letters to property owners who asked to maintain right-of-way last year. Signs and copies of the maintenance agreement are available by calling (206) 296-8100 or toll-free by calling 1-800-KC-ROADS. The maintenance agreement is also available on the Road Services Division website. The Road Services Division uses small amounts of herbicides on a carefully controlled basis. Trained technicians use only those herbicides approved by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, Food and Drug Administration and the state Department of Agriculture. Applications are additionally guided by best management practices that include follow-up monitoring and soil testing. No herbicide spraying is conducted near water including rivers, streams, wetlands, bridge abutments, guardrails near water, ditches, levees, backslopes, or in moratorium zones, which include the Snoqualmie Valley and Vashon and Maury islands. Herbicide applications are designed to keep road shoulders safe for bicyclists and pedestrians, prevent root systems from damaging roadways and reduce sod buildup that causes road flooding and icy conditions in winter. Weed control also reduces fires that can ignite uncontrolled vegetation and overgrowth that can cause accidents due to reduced visibility. The Road Services Division will also be removing all tansy ragwort from right-of-way due to the flowering weed’s danger to animals. State and local laws require the removal of tansy ragwort and other noxious weeds. Residents who maintain right-of-way are asked to place vegetation that may contain tansy ragwort in sealable bags to prevent the spread of the weed. |
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The annual St. Patrick’s Day parade and the semi-annual inspection of the Alaskan Way Viaduct will cause some rerouting of buses this weekend in downtown Seattle. The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) will be inspecting the Alaskan Way Viaduct, both north and southbound on Saturday and Sunday, March 18 and 19. The viaduct will be closed from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. both days. Buses that normally travel on the viaduct on weekends will be rerouted to First Avenue and other surface streets. They will make scheduled stops only. Saturday’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade travels along Fourth Avenue north from Jefferson Street to the Westlake Center. Buses that normally travel on Fourth Avenue will be rerouted to Third Avenue from approximately 11a.m. to 2 p.m. Information about these reroutes will be posted later this week on Metro Online.
Congratulations to King County Metro’s Bellevue Base employees for posting the best rate of collision reductions for 2005. The annual transit safety award evaluates any collision - no matter how minor - between buses and fixed objects and other vehicles. Bellevue Base reduced its accident frequency by 6.9 percent over the previous year, and North Base followed a with a 4.3 percent reduction. Bellevue Base has won the Base Safety Contest three times previously. “Everyone at Bellevue Base worked together to earn this award,” said Bellevue Base Supervisor Dave Jolly. “It was a team effort between our drivers, our supervisors and trainers, our vehicle maintenance staff, and our base safety team. We developed new orientation training for drivers new to Bellevue Base, and paid attention to the details to provide many different kinds of training opportunities.” |
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