Newcastle drivers should be aware of a few upcoming traffic impacts connected to various construction projects.

First, Lakemont Boulevard Southeast will be closed between Forest Drive Southeast and 155th Avenue Southeast starting at 5 a.m. June 20. It will reopen at 5 a.m. June 22 with alternating one-way traffic.

Drivers will be detoured onto Forest Drive Southeast, Coal Creek Parkway or Newcastle Golf Club Road, depending on where they are coming from. View the full detour map here.

While Lakemont Boulevard is not in Newcastle, many residents use it as an alternate way into the city, especially those coming from Issaquah. The closure is necessary to complete a city of Bellevue roadway improvement project.

The other traffic impact is connected to construction of the new Renton School District middle school at the corner of Newcastle Way and 116th Avenue Southeast.

Expect delays as street improvements take place in conjunction with the school’s construction. Lane closures aren’t expected, but lanes will be shifted and flaggers will be on site to direct traffic.

Work is expected to begin on Newcastle Way as early as the third week of June and expected to be completed by Aug. 31.

By Christina Corrales-Toy
The Newcastle Fruit and Produce stand is set to open April 4.

It isn’t really spring in Newcastle until a familiar red-and-white tent stands at the corner of Newcastle Way and Coal Creek Parkway.

Luckily, the Newcastle Fruit & Produce stand is just about ready to open its gates to customers.

The popular stand is set to open Saturday, April 4, in what will be owner Dave Franklin’s 23rd year operating it.

The seasonal stand sells fresh fruit and vegetables. In addition, it sells plants and trees for landscaping, as well as Christmas trees and wreaths during the holiday season.

The stand is at 13013 Newcastle Way. Learn more about the Newcastle Fruit & Produce stand on the company’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/newcastlefruitandproduce.

Newcastle pioneer Milt Swanson passes away

Family, neighbors and community leaders gathered Jan. 25 to honor the life of Milt Swanson, a titan of Newcastle history and a man with an unceasing, warming smile.

The Newcastle pioneer, born and raised in this community, spent all of his 95 years in the same area, 90 of which were in the same company house that still stands at the edge of town near the Cougar Mountain trailhead.

Swanson died Jan. 20 after a Jan. 14 fall sent him to a hospital, where he lapsed into a coma.

He knew more about the city’s vast coal-mining history than anyone, because he actually lived it. He worked in the mines, as his father and grandfather did before him, and it was vital to him to tell his story, making sure the history of Newcastle never died.

“It was important to him to allow as many people who were interested to understand the beginnings of the city they live in,” Newcastle City Councilman Rich Crispo said. “He loved this community.”

Council elects new mayor, deputy mayor

The Newcastle City Council ushered in 2014 with elections for the mayor and deputy mayor positions at its Jan. 7 meeting.

Steve Buri was elected mayor, while newcomer John Drescher is the new deputy mayor. Both will serve two-year terms.

Buri was elected to the City Council in 2007 and re-elected in 2011. He served as deputy mayor from 2008-2011.

Drescher was the new face on the council, having defeated opponent Mark Greene to fill the seat vacated by retiring Councilman Bill Erxleben in the November election.

Prior to that, he served on the Newcastle Planning Commission for four years, and as the board’s chairman for the past year and a half.

Neighbors voice concerns about Energize Eastside

A Puget Sound Energy project to bring higher capacity electric transmission lines to a growing Eastside caused controversy across affected cities, including Newcastle, in 2014.

Olympus residents in particular voiced their concerns about Energize Eastside at City Council meetings and public forums.

PSE’s Community Advisory Group recently presented its recommended routes, and both include a line that goes through Newcastle.

This story appears far from over though, as affected cities, led by Bellevue, come together to hire an independent consultant to research the project, and work through the Environmental Impact Statement process.

Old Hazelwood comes down to make way for middle school

The Renton School District demolished the old Hazelwood Elementary School in 2014 to make way for a new middle school.

The district’s fourth middle school comes at an important time, given that Renton’s middle schools are among the largest in the state.

The new school is slated to open in fall 2016.

Newcastle Days celebrates 20 years

The city of Newcastle celebrated its 20 years as an incorporated city with a special Newcastle Days celebration.

New to this year’s annual festival was a parade featuring youth groups and individuals dressed as coal miners in a nod to the city’s history.

“Really, when you think about it, 20 years isn’t old for even a tree, but there’s been a huge amount of change here in Newcastle in the last 20 years,” said Community Activities Commission Chairwoman Diane Lewis, one of the festival’s organizers.

Newport Woods community concerned about proposed development

A proposed multifamily, mixed-use development along Newcastle Way, just beside City Hall, has Newport Woods neighbors wondering how much longer the city will remain the quaint Newcastle they fell in love with.

The application calls for a 76-unit, 64-foot mixed-use building set on just under an acre of land in what is now a wooded area next to Newcastle City Hall. A trail along the Olympic pipeline is about the only thing that would separate it from homes on the edge of the Newport Woods community.

If approved as is, the six-story building would be the tallest in the city.

Renton History Museum features Newcastle exhibit

The Renton History Museum partnered with the Newcastle Historical Society to create an exhibit dedicated to Newcastle’s past.

“Newcastle: Little Giant of the Eastside,” feature pictures, maps and objects from Newcastle’s coal-mining past. The exhibit has information about the cemetery, as well as the Baima House, a still-standing Pacific Coast Coal Co. house, considered among the oldest buildings in King County.

The exhibit will be on display at the Renton History Museum through February 2015.

The longtime Newport Woods resident is an active community member, who donates much of his free time cleaning up city parks and trails with the Weed Warriors organization. He poured thousands of dollars into remodeling his Newcastle home, rather than buying a new one, because, as he puts it, “We love the people and the quietness of the location.”

But a proposed multifamily, mixed-use development along Newcastle Way, just beside City Hall, has him and his neighbors wondering how much longer the city will remain the quaint Newcastle they fell in love with.

“We’re not against development,” he said. “But we never thought it would be a monster like this.”

More Bellevue than Newcastle

The application calls for a 76-unit, 64-foot mixed-use building set on just under an acre of land in what is now a wooded area next to Newcastle City Hall. A trail along the Olympic pipeline is about the only thing that would separate it from homes on the edge of the Newport Woods community.

If approved as is, the six-story building would be the tallest in the city.

Neighbors are concerned the building would violate their privacy and change the character of the community. They argue it would increase noise, traffic and crime, and pose a serious hazard as construction occurs along an Olympic pipeline carrying fuel to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

“We all moved into this neighborhood because it was quiet and we wanted to be part of a community,” resident Jessaca Jacobson said. “We feel that this building will destroy our community due to its excessive and intrusive height and the noise and disturbance that a high-density apartment building will bring just steps away from our homes.”

Office space?

For months, Newport Woods residents have attended Newcastle City Council and Planning Commission meetings, pleading their case against the project. They’ve also collected dozens of resident signatures opposing the development.

Neighbors feel blind-sided, Jacobson said, believing that the space, zoned as “Office,” would be used for just that.

“We all assumed that would be office space,” she said. “And we could’ve coped with that.”

But just because the property is zoned as “Office,” doesn’t mean it exempts it from the type of multi-use housing development being proposed, according to city code.

As Newcastle Community Development Director Tim McHarg explained at an Oct. 7 City Council meeting, multifamily use is permitted in an office zone, though only as part of a mixed-use development that’s subject to conditions in the city’s codified Development Standards and Community Business Center Design.

“Our primary responsibility is we have a set of regulations that are in place that apply to this project,” McHarg said in an Oct. 31 interview. “This project submitted a complete application, so it’s vested to those regulations in place when it was determined to be complete.

“It’s our job to go through those regulations, ensure compliance with all of them and where there aren’t areas of compliance, to either get them to comply or work our way through that and hopefully end up with a project that’s going to not just fit the regulations, but is going to address any concerns that might be outside of the scope of the regulations.”

Complicated code

McHarg, who joined the city at the end of 2012, said as a newcomer, he assumed people were familiar with what was permitted in the Community Business Center.

“It has been in place for a really long time, and so you know, it’s unfortunate that this has come as a surprise to them. That’s not what anyone wants,” he said. “You never want citizens to be unaware of what can happen in close proximity to their property.”

That’s why McHarg said he wants to make it a point to help Newport Woods residents, and anyone else, understand the city regulations.

“I think the primary issue in any of these situations is, you know, these regulations are complicated,” he said. “It’s not something that the average person can just pick up and clearly understand.”

Residents have been commenting on the project for a few months and all of those comments are passed on to the development’s applicant, McHarg said.

It’s McHarg’s job to facilitate a conversation between those who have concerns and the developer, and attempt to find a middle ground to compromise, within the context of the city’s regulations, he said.

“Often times, they’re good ideas that are good for the project, quite frankly,” he said of citizen comments. “They do add value, and we try and convince people of the value of some of the changes.”

An open process

Residents had a chance to meet with the developer, Goodman Real Estate, and project architects at a Nov. 20 community meeting. The meeting was not required, and voluntarily coordinated.

Representatives from the architecture firm Studio Meng Strazzara outlined the design plan in front of the standing-room-only crowd at Newcastle City Hall.

They reiterated that the building is designed to current city code and noted citizen comments while Newport Woods community members continued to express their concerns.

“People just want to be heard and I don’t feel like we’ve been heard at all,” Jacobson said after the meeting.

During the meeting, one audience member suggested the city “right this wrong” and purchase the property back from the developer. In a letter to the Newcastle City Council, Jacobson asked that the city think about it.

“As the elected stewards of our city, I call on you to ‘put your neighborhood hats on,’ as one of my neighbors often says, and give this option some serious thought,” she wrote.

A final decision regarding approval of the project is not expected until January, at the earliest, McHarg said.

“It’s an open process. No decision has been made,” he said. “We’re still reviewing the application. I’d encourage anyone who has questions about the project or the process, to get in touch with us. We’re happy to meet with whomever.”

Residents are feeling a bit helpless through the process, Jacobson said, as if no one is really listening to their concerns. It’s doubly important, she added, because this could set a precedent for future development in Newcastle, making way for similarly sized, dense buildings.

A different setting

Robert and Kristina Baugher have lived in their Newport Woods home since 1978. They live in one of the homes just west of the pipeline, so the proposed development would go up behind their house.

In a letter to the city, the Baughers wrote that they love their home, but that the proposed apartment building will “directly affect our living experiences every day for the remainder of our years in our home.”

“It is not residents that are our concern,” they wrote. “Rather, it is the creation of an architectural/environmental setting that would create an atmosphere we are sure the owners of this proposed building would not themselves tolerate.”

Jacobson is convinced that no matter what they do or say the project will move forward. Neighbor Tiffany Berry agrees, though she said she’s hopeful the developer will make changes to the current plan.

“I’m not quite as convinced that it’s going to go in very similar to the current proposal, but I still think we’re going to have something that is beyond what we’d be happy with,” she said.

Jacobson, Berry, Bell and many of their neighbors said they feel very strongly about opposing the project, and it could result in taking legal action.

“We’ve put a lot of money, life into this community,” Bell said, “and now they’re stripping it from us essentially.”

Project is more than 50 percent completed

Three access routes along Coal Creek Parkway will be closed from about 5 a.m. to 7 p.m. starting Sept. 16, and continuing through Sept.18, weather permitting.

Three road barricades will be placed at 135th Avenue Northeast, the primary access to the Milepost community and Newcastle Elementary School, Southeast 79th Place and at Newcastle Golf Club Road.

Barricades will be removed from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. The city has created a vicinity map showing the closures as A, B and C, and potential access options as 1, 2 and 3. View the map here:  http://bit.ly/1d8WTvc.

The city offered these suggested routes to access Coal Creek Parkway during the closures:

1. SE 91st Street (entrance to Newcastle Highlands)
2. 134th Avenue / SE136th Avenue corridor (northbound only)
3. Some homes can be accessed via 134th Avenue from Newcastle Way

The closures are a part of the city’s work to repave a segment of Coal Creek Parkway between Newcastle Way and Southeast 84th Way.

A lane reduction began Sept. 9 and will continue through Sept. 21. Only one southbound lane and one northbound lane will remain open at all times between Newcastle Way and Southeast 84th Way between the hours of 5 a.m. and 7 p.m. The city says to expect significant delays.

Newcastle Elementary School is giving kids extra time to get to class due to construction. Students have until 9:25 a.m. to be in their seats without receiving a tardy citation. School starts at 9:15 a.m. and the 10-minute cushion for late arrivals will be in effect until Sept. 20.

The city announced in October 2012 that a portion of Coal Creek Parkway between Newcastle Way and Southeast 84th Way was showing signs of “premature failure,” and needed repairs.

A grant from the state’s Transportation Improvement Board will fund roughly half of the street’s repairs.

The closure has caused headaches for residents and business owners, but the city says the project is more than 50 percent completed, and scheduled to be finished by Oct. 4, barring any significant weather issues.

Newcastle City Councilmember Carol Simpson offered some useful tips for alternate routes through the Coal Creek Parkway construction and published some answers to resident inquiries about the project in her newsletters here and here.

The Newcastle Chamber of Commerce is doing its part to help drivers through the mess with its Coal Creek Parkway Traffic Playlist of songs: http://bit.ly/18XyntW.

Snacks will be served at 6:30 p.m. Robert Foxworthy, King County Trails coordinator, will be the guest speaker. Members of the Newcastle City Council, city staff and representatives of neighboring cities, agencies and clubs will be introduced.

Handouts at the meeting will include trail guides and maps.

After several months of work, the traffic signals located at Newcastle Way and 129th Ave. S.E. are now live, said Public Works Director Mark Rigos.

The mast arms of the traffic signals, which are located near the construction site for the Newcastle Library, went in about two months ago, while other work including ADA accessible ramps, electrical wiring, testing and underground construction began early this summer, Rigos said.

A police officer was stationed at the new signal Dec. 21 to  ensure a smooth transition for motorists and pedestrians, he said.

Large orange construction signs indicating the new change are posted at all four approaches to the device.

New “do not pass” street signage will be added within the next two weeks near the bus stop on Newcastle Way near the Coal Creek Parkway intersection in an effort to warn drivers not to pass buses loading and unloading passengers there.

The Newcastle City Council voted Sept. 6 to add the sign after members of the community, the council and the city’s public works department expressed concern about drivers performing the dangerous, illegal lane changes.

The sign will be installed in the landscape strip on the north side of Newcastle Way before the bus stop.

“We’ve heard from council members who feel strongly that there is a safety issue here,” said Councilman Sonny Putter. “It would be inappropriate for us to do nothing,”

The council opted out of Public Works Director Mark Rigos’ additional preferred alternative of adding about 10 mounted plastic traffic delineators along the route to create a physical barrier for motorists attempting to pass the bus.

Alternatives considered by the council also included increased police presence in the area, installing curbing along the route or taking no action on the issue.

Rigos said drivers who pass the bus illegally could ultimately cause a dangerous a head-on collision.

A $1,000 traffic study was conducted by consulting engineers to determine options to address the problem, and the sign and its installation should cost about $500, Rigos said.

Drivers have a tendency to leave the westbound travel lane to pass the stopped bus — which blocks the traffic lane and bike lane because there is no bus pullout at the location — in the center lane and move back into the westbound lane. A vehicle crosses the double yellow line twice every time the driver performs the illegal maneuver.

The stop serves two weekday Metro bus routes, and there are 39 individual stops made at the at the Newcastle Way location each day. The stop is just west of the intersection with Coal Creek Parkway.

Members of the Public Works Department will review the effectiveness of the sign and report back to the City Council once it has been installed, Rigos said.

Two drivers were taken to Overlake Hospital Medical Center after a five-car wreck at the intersection of Coal Creek Parkway and Newcastle Way just after 7 a.m. April 25.

A woman driving an Acura TSX northbound on Coal Creek Parkway caused a pileup when she struck an Acura MDX from behind. The MDX struck a stopped Honda Civic, which then struck a stopped Toyota Highlander.

However, after triggering the pileup, the TSX continued into the intersection, striking a Chevrolet Blazer traveling eastbound on Newcastle Way.

The floor mat in the TSX had gotten stuck on the gas pedal, according to police, and although the woman pressed the brake, the car continued to accelerate. The car only stopped when the woman turned off the car’s ignition.

The woman driving the TSX and the driver of the MDX were transported to Overlake Hospital Medical Center with minor injuries. Both Acuras were towed.

The City Council approved the traffic signal to be installed at the corner of 129th Avenue Southeast and Newcastle Way, near what will be the entrance to the Newcastle Library.

The council approved the signal with a 5-1 vote, with Councilman Rich Crispo dissenting and Councilman Sonny Putter absent.

Crispo cited concerns with the overhead rate off the project, which he said was three times higher than is typical in private industry.