Beautiful Valley day marred by problems
Published 1:08 am Friday, October 3, 2008
It’s another beautiful day here in the Valley. In addition to enjoying the sun, though, we once again face numerous issues. First and foremost is the Falls Hill closure. Can businesses in the Valley survive without this major thoroughfare? North Bend should be fine, but the traffic through Snoqualmie is noticeably slower. And will the almighty tourist dollar make it to Fall City, battling traffic on the Preston-Fall City Road?
Glenn Anderson, Cheryl Pflug and Dino Rossi will all need to lead the charge for us with the Department of Transportation. We need a permanent plan for the Falls Hill, with a likely scenario being a new path over the Tokul Ridge area. But is has to happen quickly so that we only have to endure one tourist season with negative impacts.
The next issue is the athletic facilities bond in the Lower Valley. As many letters in the Valley Record have said, we need to get this passed. Cedarcrest High School’s students deserve the same level of opportunities academically and athletically as any other school in KingCo. Please, I urge all of the Lower Valley to vote yes. Provide your kids the facilities they deserve.
And last but not least are our potential water woes. Isn’t it time that the Department of Ecology started working the backlog of well applications and the granting of water rights? Maybe this whole drought thing will help North Bend secure the water rights necessary to lift its moratorium. There are many opportunities out there for untapped water sources, but the DOE has to take the initiative and work out a reasonable plan for processing applications.
So what other issues are on your mind? Send me an e-mail, or let’s chat.
Jim McKiernan
