Happy New Year to all!
 
We will not be having a meeting tonight, Jan 6th.
Our next meeting will be on Wed, Feb 3rd, 7pm at Fire Station 22.
We will be having elections during this meeting.
 
Elections
We are really interested in getting new neighbors to run CHNA. We are looking for candidates for all positions: Chair, Secretary and Treasure.  Those who have been in these positions in the past are happy to support you. If you are interested, please send back an email response and/or come to the February meeting. 2016 is a great year to get involved!
 
Transit on CKC
1) Kirkland officials host Jan. 11 community update on Sound Transit 3 candidate projects - the City of Kirkland is hosting a second community update on high capacity transit candidate projects that are being considered by Sound Transit as part of the ST3 ballot measure. The City’s public event will be held on Monday, January 11, 2016 from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Lake Washington Institute of Technology, 11605 132nd Avenue NE, Room W404. Sound Transit officials will present basic information regarding three candidate projects (PDF) that propose high capacity transit to serve Kirkland:

• Candidate Project E-02/Bus Rapid Transit on I-405 in the Express Toll Lane from Lynnwood to Renton
• Candidate Project E-03/Light Rail Transit along the Eastside Rail Corridor from Kirkland/Totem Lake to Issaquah via Bellevue; and
• Candidate Project E-06/Bus Rapid Transit on the Eastside Rail Corridor from Kirkland to Bellevue.

2) Save Our Trail Urges all to Sign Petition - Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) on the Cross Kirkland Corridor (CKC) would destroy the ambiance and peace of this parkland treasure for walkers and bicyclists, and would significantly increase safety risks for them and school kids. These issues have been widely discussed in local media.

What has NOT BEEN DISCUSSED is much more important to the average Kirkland resident who does not personally use or live on the Corridor: namely, the COST vs. the BENEFIT of Sound Transit’s proposed ST3 Option E-06 (BRT on the CKC), compared to Option E-02 (BRT on I-405), which SaveOurTrail.org emphatically endorses. Here’s why:
 
Based on Sound Transit’s own statistics and projections for the two projects, as shown graphically in the attachment:

• BRT on 405 will cost 40% less to build per rider than BRT on the Trail 
• BRT on 405 will cost 38% less to operate per rider than BRT on the Trail
• BRT on 405 will move riders 22% faster than BRT on the Trail
• BRT on 405 will support 27% more riders than BRT on the Trail

On January 19th, the City Council will make a final decision on which of these alternatives to recommend to Sound Transit as part of its ST3 package on next November's ballot. Right now they are firmly leaning toward BRT on the Trail! Please contact them before January 11th and urge them to recommend BRT on 405, instead. Also, please sign the Save Our Trail Petition on change.org.  
 
NW University Master Plan
John Kappler has been working with the Mayor, the City Manager as well as Dr Castleberry, President of NW University on the update the University’s  Master Plan and “uses for the campus”. The recommendation is to have conversations go through the city manager’s office (a single point of contact) so everything can be easily disseminated through a city list serve email. This way everyone could see the whole process. Next CHNA meeting we hope to provide an update on the process as well as see if Dr. Castleberry can come to one of our meetings.
 
CERT
Margaret Bull has had a few conversations with NW University about using their campus as a meeting point for CERTs in Houghton during a disaster. It is more centrally located than Metropolitan Market for liaising. They have agreed to let us do this using either the cafeteria or the gym. Margaret is looking for other to join her to  look at these locations to see where we might meet and set up communications.
 
Patti Jean Hooper has been working with NW University to set up a Stone Soup arrangement there. NW University already has a generator on their campus that is owned by the city.  This is an exciting development in providing help to our neighborhood during a disaster. We will be called upon to help with the Stone Soup project. That is another good reason to change our meeting location to the college.
 
405 Toll Lanes
For those interested, there is a petition to stop tolling on 405 - Please pass legislation to stop tolling on I-405 between Bellevue and Lynnwood, restore the lanes to 2-person carpool lanes during the day and open to all at night and remove the double-lines for open access. To sign the petition, go to http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/stop405tolls
 
Please join us at the February meeting. We hope you consider running for a position on CHNA. We need your time and energy to address the topics above as well as Houghton Everest Neighborhood Center and the Neighborhood Safety Program.
 
Central Houghton Neighborhood Association (CHNA)
Find us on the web at http://www.houghtonlives.com 
And on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/groups/centralhoughton 
 

​KIRKLAND, Wash. – The City of Kirkland is hosting a second community update on high capacity transit candidate projects that are being considered by Sound Transit as part of the ST3 ballot measure. The City’s public event will be held on Monday, January 11, 2016 from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Lake Washington Institute of Technology, 11605 132nd Avenue NE, Room W404. Sound Transit officials will present basic information regarding three candidate projects that propose high capacity transit to serve Kirkland:

• Candidate Project E-02/Bus Rapid Transit on I-405 in the Express Toll Lane from Lynnwood to Renton
• Candidate Project E-03/Light Rail Transit along the Eastside Rail Corridor from Kirkland/Totem Lake to Issaquah via Bellevue; and
• Candidate Project E-06/Bus Rapid Transit on the Eastside Rail Corridor from Kirkland to Bellevue. 

City officials will share its analysis of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) proposal on the Cross Kirkland Corridor (Candidate Project E-06.) The informational presentation will be given at 6:30 to 7:30 and repeated from 7:45 to 8:45 p.m. City and Sound Transit staff will be available to answer questions in Room W401 throughout the event. 

The City is analyzing how high capacity transit could be designed to address concerns expressed by the Kirkland community such as access to the CKC, safety, noise, protecting sensitive areas and ensuring safety on the CKC.  The City also analyzed how BRT on I-405 could be designed to address basic access issues. General findings will be presented during the two informational presentations.  Sound Transit’s analysis of all of the candidate ST3 projects can be found at www.soundtransit3.org and select “Shaping ST3.” 

On December 4, 2015, Sound Transit released its analysis and project templates for each ST3 Candidate Project and is seeking technical input from the City of Kirkland regarding the three candidate projects located in Kirkland by January 21, 2016. The Kirkland City Council will be discussing its response letter to Sound Transit at its January 5 and January 19 Regular Meetings. 

For background on the City’s outreach efforts, go to www.kirklandwa.gov/ST3. For specific questions, please email ST3questions@kirklandwa.gov or contact the Public Works Department at 425-587-3800. 

Through March 2016, Sound Transit will continue to develop its Draft System Plan and will initiate a public involvement process in April 2016. The Sound Transit Board of Directors will approve the Final System Plan in June 2016 that will be presented to regional voters in the November 2016 General Election.(12.29.15)