City of Redmond Neighborhood News Resources

Looking for a way to keep up-to-date on neighborhood news from the good folks at the City of Redmond’s Neighborhood and Historic Preservation?  Look no further than the City’s eAlert Subscription webpage.

eAlert is a free email and digital subscription service allowing the public to subscribe to topics of interest and receive instant, automated email notification whenever the City posts new information on its website. The City also can send e-newsletters, text messages and relevant information to specific groups.

In addition to a plethora of topics ranging from City Council business to recreation, you can also select your specific neighborhood towards the end of the list under the “Neighborhood News” section:

New to Redmond and not sure which neighborhood is yours? Use this map for a quick view:

Still can’t get enough of Neighborhood news!? You can find all this and more at the City of Redmond’s Neighborhoods page…happy reading!

All Aboard the Redmond Central: The Park Bench Project

The City of Redmond is hosting a visioning event, the “Park Bench Project”, for the Redmond Central Connector in downtown Redmond. The event is scheduled for Wednesday, September 15, 2010 and runs from 5:30 to 7:30 PM. The event location is at the corner of Bear Creek Parkway and Leary Way. Click here for more info.

Light refreshments will be served at the event, and music will be provided by the Toy Boats. The Toy Boats are a Seattle-based ensemble of toy and small instrument musicians who play original compositions and arrangements of European folksongs.

History of the Redmond Central Connector
On June 30, 2010, the City of Redmond acquired the Redmond Spur of the Woodinville Subdivision of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) Rail Corridor. The corridor extends 3.9 miles from the junction of SR-520 and Redmond Way to the intersection of Willows Road and NE 124th Street.

The master planning process will include an integrated design that ties the north and south sides of Downtown together to develop a cultural corridor within the heart of the City. For more information on the planning process, see BNSF Rail Corridor Master Plan.

Jaime’s KCLS Jaunt #7: Kirkland Library

The best laid plans. . .my 4th trip to my 7th library is again a little bit out of my original plan of order.  However, I visited Kirkland last Thursday night on business unrelated to Jaunting and I’m going to take the excuse to count it as a trip and talk about another passion of mine – adult literacy.

First things first though, the wonderfully newly remodeled library. One of the best features is the wall of windows that overlooks the baseball fields in Peter Kirk Park.  It’s close enough that you can sit in the nearby reading areas and actively watch the game!  It’s the quiet area though, so you won’t be able to cheer on your favorite local team.  Of course, I don’t have a picture of it, so you’ll have to visit and see for yourself!

Upon the library’s re-opening in December, I occasionally meet my GED student at Kirkland and use the study rooms. (Our regular meeting place is the Lake Washington Technical College library.  I recently saw a replica of Lincoln’s casket there, probably worth a different post, now that I think   about it!)  In addition to a volunteer on this Library Board, I’m a volunteer Adult Education Tutor through Hopelink.  I’m currently assisting a student in her study plan to earn her GED. I completed the training late last summer and was matched with her in October.  It’s been an amazingly rewarding experience to  help her reach her goals and see visible progress every week.  Plus, I constantly learn new things!  The GED book is filled with literature, science, and math that I either don’t remember from high school or was never explicitly taught (seriously, when was the last time you didn’t use Excel to graph a line!).  We constantly have further questions that I spend time looking up when I’m prepping for the tutor session or after our meeting.  The library is a great meeting place for this as sometimes we pop out of the room and look something up right away.

I love being on the Library Board because I can help the community at large.  I love being an Adult Education Tutor for the exact opposite reason – I can make a difference for one person at a time.

p.s. You can reserve a study room once a week for up to two hours by giving the library a call or visiting in person.

Jaime’s KCLS Jaunt #4, #5, and #6: Tukwila, Foster, and Southcenter Libraries

My third adventure into KCLS libraries dawned bright and beautiful last Saturday!  For this trip, Lorin and I headed out in the early afternoon as south King County beckoned yet again. As I was with Doris, I was happy to have Lorin accompany me as he is also a lot more outgoing than I am!  Plus, he remembered to bring his KCLS Library Board business cards, so we looked totally legitimate.

For this venture, we took a slight detour from my plan to visit the farthest libraries first with a trip to the “tiny” community of Tukwila. With a population of 18,080 over 8.6 square miles, it boasts three library branches and is the geographical center of the KCLS service area.  However, the smallest library, Tukwila, will be closing at the end of this month and was the impetus for my trip there sooner rather than later. 

The Tukwila Library is housed in a former schoolhouse and City Hall that is on the National Register of Historic Places.  It’s a beautiful property located in a residential neighborhood, very different than the libraries I’ve visited before that were located primarily in business or shopping areas. Neighbored by Hazelnut Park, the building sits on a bluff and across the street from a trail system that connects to the Duwamish Green River Trail.

Inside, what a quaint little library!  The children’s section took about half of the square footage and as at other libraries, the computers were a popular draw.  One of the most unique features of this library is its vault.  Original to the City Hall, it now houses office supplies (and in case of accidental closure, the combination is stamped on the handle!) Not to fear that the building will go unused once the library moves out, Patty and Carol, the librarian staff with whom we chatted, tell us that the local historical society and several city departments are vying for the space.

The original plan was to head to Southcenter after Tukwila, until Patty reminded us that the Foster branch was only a mile down the road.  Um, there’s a third branch in Tukwila, I enquired?  At the beginning of this post, I cleverly sounded like I knew what I was doing. But, when planning this outing, I did not notice that Foster had a Tukwila address. My spreadsheet designed failed me on this trip!  You can bet that I’ve now broken out the address field so that I can sort on the city name. And so, it was off to Foster we went.

The Foster Library is located right across the street from Foster High School – home to students that speak 65 different languages.  There’s amazing diversity across Tukwila, to say the least.  My first impression when we pulled into the parking lot was that it was quite empty for a Saturday afternoon, and I made the erroneous, and terribly stereotypical, assumption that the library would be empty (me! who avidly rode the bus to work for 8 years!).  Nothing could have been further from the truth. 

The library was as busy as I expected once we walked in. We chatted briefly with Larisa, a library assistant that has been with KCLS for 15 years.  She enlightened us on the beautiful stained glass adorning one of the windows.  As we finished talking with Larisa, it was late afternoon and we were long overdue for lunch. . .

I’d like to promise that all of my excursions into the community side of these trips won’t revolve around food, but besides reading, eating is right there with my most favorite things to do.  We headed along International Boulevard to see what we could spot and we stumbled upon Salaama – advertising East African food that was 100% halal. I’ve never had East African, so we headed in!  The menu was simple, the service was friendly, I loved my spicy pasta, and I learned a little more about the Somali community in King County during the lunch.  Lorin was much more adventurous than I in his sampling of the goat dish. (See this Seattle Times article for more about dining experiences at Salaama.)

Bellies full, we were off to the Library Connection at Southcenter.  I must say, the brightly lit library “storefront” fit right in with the mall!  And, it brought me back to my high school years in Vancouver, WA. The Vancouver Mall branch of the Fort Vancouver Regional Library District was my home branch during those years so I’m quite comfortable seeing a library in the mall.  And again, the branch was hopping with patrons at computers and reading in all available seating.  Carol, an assistant librarian who has been at the branch since its opening in 2004, was kind enough to talk to Lorin and I about the uniqueness of a library in a mall - it carries mostly new books, doesn’t allow for holds (yet?), and keeps mall hours – staying open as late as 10 p.m. during the holidays!

As we headed out of Southcenter, I reflected on how such a compact space can hold so much diversity.  The closing of the Tukwila branch will only temporarily reduce Tukwila’s library count to 2 branches. . .a 3rd branch is planned for Tukwila Village as that development takes shape.

Jaime’s KCLS Jaunt #2 and #3: Auburn and Muckleshoot Libraries

Adventure Checklist: 

• Get “lost” – check!
• Change of plans – check!
• Meet new people – check!
• Discover great local diner – check!

As yesterday dawned a little dreary, Doris and I headed south to visit two of the libraries farthest from Redmond*: the Auburn and Muckleshoot branches.  I was excited to have Doris along because she’s a lot more outgoing than me and I knew we would meet interesting people with her. In addition to being on the Redmond Library Board, she’s involved in Friends of the Library activities and otherwise has a long history of being active in the community. In short, she’s pretty awesome and has a lot of fun stories to share.

As we exited Highway 18, we had a little confusion from the directions. Do we go east or west on SR 164?  The directions indicated both (really, take a look!) I was pretty sure we needed to head east, so we took the turn and within a few minutes spotted the Auburn library branch.  The original plan was to visit Muckleshoot first, but it was raining and we had been in the car for nearly an hour on I-405, SR 167 AND Highway 18, so we made the last-minute decision to stop at Auburn first.

The Auburn library was hopping at 10:45 a.m. on a Saturday morning!  I only saw one open computer and there was a continuous stream of patrons entering and exiting.  As I walked in, I reflected that this branch definitely had the KCLS “look and feel”.  The building is wonderfully spacious with high ceilings. Past the entrance lobby one can stand right inside the doors and see the entire length of the library. Additionally, this branch will be renovated beginning this year to add 5,000 square feet.  It didn’t look like they will have any trouble filling their new space with the number of patrons visiting on this Saturday! 

Auburn’s Lead Librarian was kind enough to spend a few minutes with us talking about the library and other interesting places in Auburn. Located next to the White River Valley Museum and a large city park, the library seemed conveniently placed, though you definitely need to know the back way out of the parking lot to make a left turn!

 
Speaking of left turns, after snapping a few pictures of Wheelie admiring the artwork that paid respect to Auburn’s train history that was contributed by the Friends of the Auburn Library, Doris and I were off to the Muckleshoot branch. 

 

First, it’s important to note that the Muckleshoot branch is only 6.6 miles away from the Auburn branch on the same road. Second, by all accounts, the Muckleshoot library is tucked a little away and can be difficult to find. So, when one forgets to check her odometer, she thinks they’ve gone way too far and missed the turn. With not being familiar with the area, we turned around and drove back to the Auburn branch, reset the trip meter, and tried again.  Of course, on the second attempt, we realize that we turned around merely a quarter mile from where we could have seen the sign! (And if you were one of the people behind me while I did at least 10 miles under the speed limit while we were looking for this library, twice, my sincerest apologies!)

It will be hard for another library to top the setting of the Muckleshoot branch, in my opinion.  Though set not too far from the main road where cars are whizzing by, it seems completely surrounded by trees.  Unfortunately, my photo doesn’t do the setting justice! When we got out of the car, it smelled like we were about to take a hike, not walk into a library! Once inside, all of the windows seem to look out into a forest and the ends of the shelves have a beautiful leaf natural print.

Measuring in at just 6,000 feet, the library is a sleek, simple miniature of a large branch.  Everything you need is there: the children’s and teen sections, holds and meeting rooms. . .just done on a smaller scale.  Again, we were met by a super friendly Librarian that also gave us a peek into their staff room.

The Muckleshoot branch also has the largest Native American collection in the King County Library System.  It’s shelved in open stacks, so I pulled a book on English to Lushootseed language so that Wheelie and I could learn a few words.  After admiring local high school artwork also displayed in the library, Doris and I were off to our last destination of the day. . .lunch!

As part of my visit to the libraries, I also plan to visit at least one other community attraction. Some place that’s considered less of a destination in and of itself (sorry, no SuperMall or Casino on this trip!) I found the Sun Break Cafe referenced online that was just off Auburn’s Main Street.  So delicious!  Huge hearty breakfast portions at reasonable prices - I still have at least two more days of hash browns and potato pancakes to dine on!  I devoured all of my wheat toast on the spot though. . . I stood no chance of being reasonable and taking one of the two thick slices home!

As Doris and I turned back to the highway to head home after lunch, I thought about my upcoming visits – I can’t wait to discover more of my extended local community!

 

* The total roundtrip was ~85 miles.  I’ve roughly calculated that I’ll drive an additional 1,800 miles this year with my fuel-efficient car.  I plan on offsetting my increased carbon footprint and through CarbonFund.org have estimated that it will cost me ~$6 to do so.

Jaime’s Jaunt Through KCLS

I hope that the first few weeks of 2010 are bringing you good fortune!  This year, I’ve pledged to visit all of the branches of the King Count Library System and blog about my adventures.  It’ll work out to be about 4 branches a month.

My “a-ha!” moment came one day as I was perusing the KCLS branch map. I was startled to realize how few communities I’ve stepped foot into in King County!  As an avid traveler (4 continents and counting. . .), I thought it was a shame that I hadn’t yet journeyed much through my own backyard.

While I hope that I’ll have another board member or two as a companion on some of my trips, I’ll never be alone.  I’d like to introduce to you Wheelie Wel-Red!Above, you can see him braving the weekend weather as we head into the Redmond Library. . .checking off the home branch as the first in our list.  Like me, he’s an intrepid explorer and ready to learn all about the wonderful communities that KCLS serves! While we are visiting each library, we also plan to visit another local establishment or two along the way so that we can continue to connect to each community.

I hope that you’ll keep checking back to join me in my adventures. . .or better yet, visit a few KCLS branches yourself!

p.s. Stay tuned for my next blog post – Muckleshoot and Auburn Libraries, here I come! 

A Streetside View of Redmond

You can now see a street-level view of downtown Redmond using the new version of Bing Maps. While you might have used the bird's eye views in Bing Maps, the new beta version provides a ground-level, or Streetside, view. Here’s a Streetside view of the Redmond Library:

To access the Streetside feature in Bing Maps, click on the Blue Man icon at the lower part of the map screen. If the feature is available for the map area, you can drag the man to a location on the map, and the map converts to a street-level view of the location. Once in Streetside mode, you can explore the location around you by using your mouse and the Streetside controls to change your location and viewing perspective.

This new mapping technology is built on Microsoft's Silverlight, which provides smooth scrolling for panning, as well as zooming in and out of locations. You will be prompted to install Silverlight if it hasn’t already been installed.

A growing number of U.S. locations are gaining Streetside capability — international locations will be available in the future. Here’s a Streetside view of the Fremont Troll in Seattle:

Photosynths
Photosynth images are also a key feature of Bing Maps. In simple terms, the Photosynth Web application allows you to take a collection of photos of the same scene or object and automagically stitch them all together into one big interactive 3D viewing experience that you can share with anyone on the web.

Here’s a photosynth of the climbing structure in Redmond’s Marymoor Park.

You can find out more about photosynths, including creating ones yourself, at Photosynth.net. Here’s one of more popular photosynths — Isa Khan Niyazi's Tomb in Delhi, India:

Isa Khan Niyazi was an Afghan noble in Sher Shah Suri's court of Sur dynasty, who fought against the Mughals. This tomb was built in 1547, during his own lifetime, and later served as the burial place for the entire family of Isa Khan.

Other Blog Postings on Maps
Here’s a list of other Redmond Library blog postings on maps:

Is Your House on Google Street View?

Maps for the City of Redmond

Redmond Town Center: A View from Virtual Earth 3D

Exploring the Skies with the WorldWide Telescope

A bird's eye view of Redmond High School

Is Your House on Google Street View?

Your house may now be part of the images used in Google Street View, which is a feature of Google Maps. Street View provides 360° panoramic views of streets taken at ground level. When it was launched on May 25, 2007, only five American cities were included. Now, Street View has expanded to thousands of locations, including the Eastside cities of Redmond, Bellevue, and Kirkland.

Judging from the new construction of houses on NE 51st St, the Redmond photos in Street View were taken in Summer 2008.

How to Use Street View
Go to Google Maps, and enter an address, such as the one for the El Toreador restaurant in downtown Redmond:

Next, click the Search Maps button. The following popup dialog box appears:

To view the map location as a Street View, click the Street view link below the photo in the popup dialog box. This causes Google Maps to switch to Street View mode, and the photo for the location is displayed. It’s the view you’d see if you were standing across the street from the restaurant:

Once you are in Street View mode, you can use the navigation controls that appear in the upper left of the photo. These controls allow you to turn around and look slightly up and down:

You can also use the large white arrows on the photo to move along the street. When you click on an arrow, you reset the GPS location and the corresponding photo for the location is displayed. At intersections, additional arrows are displayed, which allow you to move in any direction along a street that is part of Street View.

Lastly, you can change the Street View location by dragging and dropping the orange figure in the lower right of the photo. Only streets outlined in blue are valid Street View locations:

Street View Locations in Washington
The following locations are some of the cities and surrounding areas in Washington that have been added to Street View: Bremerton, Everett, Olympia, Seattle, Spokane, Tacoma, and Vancouver.

BTW, Zillow.com uses Google Street View for its property listing photos — this is how I found out that Redmond had been added to Street View.

Click on the following links to view some interesting Street View locations in Washington state:

Redmond City Hall

Redmond Town Center

Microsoft Redmond Campus

Bellevue Square

I-90 Bridge

Volunteer Park, Seattle

Pike Place Public Market, Seattle

Fremont Bridge, Seattle

Union Station, Tacoma

Riverfront Park, Spokane

How Street View is Created
To create the Street View experience, Google combines mapping data with photographic imagery collected by specialized data acquisition companies. To capture the 360° imagery, vehicles crisscross the streets of the target city with multiple-lens cameras mounted on their roofs. These rapid-fire cameras take thousands of high-resolution images per minute. By correlating the imagery data with GPS information, Google stitches together complete panoramic scenes that become Street View.

Other Blog Postings on Maps
Here’s a list of other Redmond Library blog postings on maps:

Maps for the City of Redmond

Redmond Town Center: A View from Virtual Earth 3D

Exploring the Skies with the WorldWide Telescope

A bird's eye view of Redmond High School

Puget Sound Tech Universe: A Visual History of the Technology Industry

The Washington Technology Industry Association (WTIA) has recently published a poster which richly illustrates the genealogy of the the Seattle area’s tech industry. At the center of this map are six “galaxies”: Aldus, Amazon, Boeing, McCaw Cellular, Microsoft, and the University of Washington.

Click the following image to display a larger version of the Puget Sound Tech Universe map:

You can also view an interactive online version of the map. This online version allows you to zoom in/out and pan. You can also search the map using text strings.

About the Map
The map illustrates the genealogy of 711 firms and institutions in the Puget Sound region. Data was gathered through an online survey of technology firms in 2007. The map is part of a Virginia Tech research project that is examining the emergence of high-tech regions in the United States. Other maps have been created for Boise and Portland. For more info about the project, see the Knowledge Regions Initiative.

A New Bridge for Redmond: The NE 36th Street Overpass

To accommodate the expected increase in traffic in the Overlake area, Microsoft and the City of Redmond are building an overpass across SR 520 to connect NE 36th Street with NE 31st Street. Construction is expected to begin in the winter of 2008 with completion in the spring of 2010.

The bridge opened Dec 15, 2010. For details and photos, see the posting, Redmond Joins the Rotary Club: Completing the NE 36th St Bridge

The following image shows the bridge design — notice the landscaped lids that are offset along the edges of the overpass:

The 480’ long overpass will connect the east and west sides of the Microsoft campus, allowing for easier traffic flow on campus and in the surrounding communities. The overpass will have one lane in each direction, a bicycle lane, and landscaped pedestrian walkways. A connecting pathway will provide convenient pedestrian access to the Overlake Transit Center. The overpass also provides a connector to the bike trail that runs along 520.

The area around NE 31st Street and 152nd Avenue NE will be closed during construction.

For more information, including ongoing traffic impact, see the Washington State Department of Transportation project page SR 520 – NE 36th St Overpass.

Other Blog Postings on Construction
Here’s a list of other Redmond Library blog postings on construction:

Nintendo's New Office Building in Redmond

Microsoft Building 83 under Construction