Garry Kampen

This year is the 20th anniversary of Newcastle, a small city that ranks high in livability, and the 15th anniversary of Newcastle Trails, a nonprofit citizens group that has worked for parks, trails and open space, in close cooperation with the city, since 1999.

I’m writing to celebrate Newcastle’s amazing and still-growing trail system, and to encourage you to explore it and enjoy it. Check NT’s website, www.newcastletrails.org; download our latest map and trail guide; join NT by emailing info@newcastletrails.org (for trail news, no dues); attend our Oct. 6 board meeting (7 p.m. at Regency Newcastle); and consider volunteering for the board, or lending a hand with trail work, computer work (GIS, web, writing), lobbying, fundraising — whatever you’d like to do.

Newcastle’s trails are part of a regional network used by walkers, joggers, cyclists and equestrians. The city lies within a Grand Loop, a triangle of trail corridors with its base on the existing Lake Washington Trail (future Eastside Rail Trail) and its apex in Cougar Mountain.

The sides of the triangle are the May Creek Greenway (mostly in Newcastle) and the Coal Creek section of the Mountains to Sound Greenway (mostly in Bellevue). The triangle is crossed north-to-south by Coal Creek Parkway (continuous sidewalks) and the heavily used Waterline Trail (few sidewalks, many trees), with downtown Newcastle and Lake Boren Park sandwiched between.

You can walk the loop and its cross-trails now, with two exceptions: Renton’s May Creek Trail (partly complete, bridge needed), and the parkway underpass for the Coal Creek Trail (due soon). The Grand Loop is mostly wooded nature trails: The May Creek and Coal Creek trails include creeks, waterfalls, bridges, historic sites and sections of an old railroad; the Terrace Trail has switchbacks, lovely rock steps, views, fallen trees and giant moss-covered boulders. The Marshall’s Hill and Red Town trails (in Cougar Mountain Wilderness Park) link wilderness trails with the remains of Old Newcastle and its coal mines.

The west-to-east CrossTown Trail is Newcastle’s major urban trail (nature trails and sidewalks), a central connector linking schools, parks, neighborhoods and north-south trails. It starts near 116th Avenue Southeast and Newcastle Way, and winds past or through Hazelwood Elementary School, Hazelwood Park, Donegal Park, the historic Newcastle Cemetery and Lake Boren Park, continuing on sidewalks to Beit Tikvah and, after a gap, southeast along the DeLeo Wall (woods, views) from Newcastle Vista to Cougar Mountain.

Fall projects include new trail signs citywide, and changes to the CrossTown Trail: rerouting it at the new middle school and the planned Renton School District Newcastle development (between Olympus and Hazelwood), and rebuilding sections of trail between Newcastle Vista and Cougar Mountain.

Newcastle’s trail system has benefited from the cooperation of many groups, including Renton, Bellevue, King County and the Issaquah Alps Trails Club (check their websites for trail maps and guided walks). Volunteers were also essential. Much of the trail work was done by Boy Scouts, and parents, from Newcastle’s Hazelwood Troop, and other troops from Bellevue, Kirkland and Renton.

Thanks for your first-rate coverage of the departure of Mark Rigos, Newcastle’s Public Works director. Mark is an extraordinary individual who made a huge positive impact on the city and its residents, especially in expanding and improving Newcastle’s trail system, as members of Newcastle Trails can attest.

Projects that had been deferred for years were completed during Mark’s three-year tenure, often on his initiative (without prodding from Newcastle Trails). These included easements for the Horse Trail, drainage on the Highlands Trail, and surveys that helped prevent encroachment on our parks and trails.

Mark played a major role in the completion of the May Creek Trail, and cooperated effectively with the city of Renton in planning a May Creek Greenway from Lake Washington to Cougar Mountain Regional Wildland Park. His efforts have ensured the near-term completion of Newcastle’s part of the Greenway from Renton to Cougar Mountain. His support — with negotiations, logistics and materials — has been vital to our 2014 work in extending the CrossTown Trail Southeast from Newcastle Vista.

Mark accelerated trail construction and improvement by making effective use of city staff and outside agencies (like the Washington Conservation Corps) and working closely with Newcastle Trails and other trail supporters (including the Boy Scouts and Weed Warriors). He provided material support to volunteer work parties, and applied his engineering skills to construction problems on the May Creek Trail and elsewhere.

Mark is a great communicator, sometimes beyond any reasonable expectation. An email sent to him at 6 p.m. on a Friday might well get a clear, detailed reply a short time later. And be followed up by action. He was proactive: If something of interest to Newcastle Trails reached him, he’d send a message right away, with relevant documents attached.

Mark is a nice guy who finishes first, with a great work ethic and exceptional gifts in people skills, management ability and engineering expertise. We wish him well in his new job. The city hit a home run when they hired him: We hope our heavy hitters can score again with his successor.

Garry Kampen

President, Newcastle Trails

Other Energy Eastside options need to be studied independently

Puget Sound Energy’s Energize Eastside Community Advisory Group process is deeply flawed and does not represent the preferences of the neighborhoods. It is now well-acknowledged that the data collected is statistically invalid, as even PSE’s own CAG representative said it is “meaningless to the process of scoring neighborhood values for the purposes of determining a preferred route.”

PSE unilaterally eliminated several viable alternative solutions to support growth on the Eastside before it began the CAG process.

The neighborhood members of the CAG respectfully ask all five cities to formally notify PSE that the CAG process does not represent the will of the neighborhoods, that this project would significantly violate neighborhood character, and to either stop wasting time on it or restart it with other options for the CAG to consider.

There are too many non-neighborhood stakeholders on the CAG and not enough of the affected neighborhoods are represented, thus PSE stacked the deck against the neighborhoods. PSE and its consultant Enviroissues have purposely manipulated a process that is not fair, accurate, thorough or transparent.

The neighborhoods need the city of Bellevue (the lead agency) to have several other options independently studied prior to the Environmental Impact Statement and State Environmental Policy Act review process commencing.

The PSE Community Advisory Group Members and/or Alternates signed below:

Steve O’Donnell, Somerset, Ruth Marsh, Somerset, John Merrill, Somerset, Norm Hansen, Bridle Trails, Warren Halverson, Bridle Trails, Lindy Bruce, Sunset Hills, Dick Morris, Sunset Hills, David T. Edmonds, Olympus, Sean McNamara, Olympus, Larry Johnson, Olympus, Jeff Dubois, Greenwich Crest, Scott Kaseburg, Lake Lanes, Donald Miller, Lake Lanes, Sally McCray, Lake Lanes, Dr. Richard Kaner, Lake Lanes, Darius Richards, Kennydale, Mark Hancock, Kennydale