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Week of Mar. 3, 2008
Roads Division documenting ‘Memory Lane’
The Old Cascade Highway near Skykomish doesn't look much different from when it opened in 1925.
| A project to identify and preserve the local history along some of King County’s oldest roads is currently being spearheaded by the King County Road Services Division.
It involves researching, documenting, surveying, and inventorying historic and scenic road corridors and prioritizing them for preservation, enhancement, and promotion as heritage tourism routes.
From January to May, researchers will be collecting information and photographing roadside features of historic significance on more than 25 roads in unincorporated King County. This information – along with community input – will help the division document the story of more than 100 years of transportation development in the region. It will also identify the county’s most interesting and important heritage corridors.
Local residents are being asked to help out by contributing their knowledge, memories, photos, and other keepsakes to flesh out the bureaucratic records. Public open house meetings will be held later this spring to share the information compiled to date, and gather memories from local residents. People can contact Ruth Harvey at ruth.Harvey@kingcounty.gov, if they have information or materials to contribute.
“We want to understand and document the history of our county roads before it is lost, and do our best to preserve this history in the years ahead,” said Division Director Linda Dougherty. “We hope it will foster an appreciation both for local history and the role our transportation network has played in the region’s development.”
The inventory project began last year with extensive research of both old paper records and modern Geographic Information Systems (GIS) files. Then, the researchers drove the county doing a “windshield survey” of more than 75 roads that met certain criteria for historic significance.
That list has now been narrowed down to about 25 roads that have retained a significant amount of historic features. Those features vary. Sometimes it’s because the road follows an even-older Native American trail. Or, the road connected key 19th Century agricultural and business centers. In some cases, existing structures – like old barns and historic homes – still grace the nearby landscape.
Dougherty said the focus of this project is on the transportation history of our communities, and will not result in any new regulations or restrictions for property owners. The information will also be used by the Roads Division to design future improvements and maintenance projects on the heritage corridors in ways that do not detract from the road’s historic character.
Once the inventory is complete, a Web site with driving map and educational materials will be developed.
The project is a collaboration between the Road Services Division, the King County Historic Preservation Program, and 4Culture. Funding comes from a federal grant administered by the Washington State Department of Transportation.
The inventory project is just one way the Road Services Division is demonstrating stewardship of heritage resources associated with the transportation system. Last year, the Road Division’s Cultural Resources Protection Program received a major achievement award from the National Association of Counties (NACo). It was also selected as the best in the nation in NACo’s “Arts and Historic Preservation” category for its work in meeting and exceeding federal standards to protect archaeological sites and other historic and cultural resources.
Tolt Bridge update The new Tolt Bridge, which is located over the Snoqualmie River near Carnation, recently achieved a major construction milestone. When the rain took some time off over Presidents Day weekend, crews did the cement concrete deck pour on the west side of the new bridge. That completed the concrete pours for the bridge deck. The east side of the bridge was poured last fall. This keeps the project on track, with the new bridge scheduled to open for traffic this June. After the new bridge is open, the existing bridge will be demolished, the bypass road removed, and the installation of storm drainage facilities and a wetland mitigation site will be completed. Completion of the entire project by the King County Road Services Division is expected by early 2009.
Daylight Saving arrives early again The early-start Daylight Saving Time arrives this weekend, and bus passengers should be aware of the effects on Sunday’s early morning travel. On Saturday night, March 8, all Saturday bus service, including Night Owl trips that leave the Central Business District at 2:15 a.m. and 3:30 a.m. on Sunday, operates on Pacific Standard Time. If you are riding those “Night Owl” trips, wait to re-set your clock until after you are done riding buses for the night. All Metro trips leaving bus bases on Sunday morning operate on Daylight Saving Time. If you are planning to ride Sunday morning service, be sure to set your clock ahead on Saturday night. See Metro Online for details. Starting last year, the U.S. Energy Policy Act of 2005, extended Daylight Saving Time (DST) in the United States by approximately four weeks. That includes three extra weeks in March and one in November. |
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Metro’s Sales and Customer Service group sets record Metro’s Sales and Customer Services group dealt with incredible growth in customer contacts during 2007 – including Web site visits, phone calls, and pass and cash fare sales. The Metro Online Website led the way, racking up more than 7.3 million visits. That was 10 percent more than in 2006 and 34 percent more than 2005. And, there were 5.2 million separate visits to the online Trip Planner in 2007. The Rider Information Office received more than 1.48 million telephone calls. Most were handled through the automated information system, but staff provided personalized assistance to more than 662,000 of those callers – almost 10 percent above 2006 levels. For the sales office, farebox cash reached an all-time high of $26.3 million deposited. The total units of passes, ticketbooks and other fare media sold was more than 1.3 million.
Spot bid auction set for March 12 The next King County Spot Bid auction will take place Wednesday, March 12, and features 50 lots of surplus office equipment. The auction is managed by the Fleet Administration Division and includes both King County surplus and items from other government agencies. Previews are on auction day only, from 10 a.m. until the start of the bidding process at noon. Check out the Spot Bid website to see a few photos of items in this month’s auction. The auction will take place at Fleet’s warehouse at 707 S. Orcas St., Seattle. For information, photos and driving directions, visit the auction website. |
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