25TH YEAR, NO. 36
THE PLATEAU’S ONLY LOCALLY OWNED NEWSPAPER
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2016
SAMMAMISH
QUESTIONS ANSWERED
REVIEW
Eastside Catholic beats Gonzaga Prep in matchup of defending state champs. Page 10
Providence Point could get traffic signal BY LIZZ GIORDANO lgiordano@sammamishreview.com
council.” The design nestles many of the stores and medical offices into the hillside, with some of the 400 parking stalls situated
If voters in Issaquah approve a $50 million transportation bond in November, a new traffic signal would be added to Southeast 43rd Way at the entrance to Providence Point. Since Issaquah’s annexation of Providence Point in 2003, a road project to improve safety for both motorists and pedestrians at the entrance to the community has been on the books. According to Issaquah Deputy City Administrator Emily Moon, a lack of funding has prevented the plan from proceeding. “We have been sitting here and waiting,” said Patrick Rooney, community manager at Providence Point. More than 1,400 members live in the adult community, which has two campuses stretching across Southeast 43rd Way. Rooney said crossing the busy street can be a challenge for residents, especially so close to a blind curve. Currently, the vehicles accessing the north campus enter and exit on separate streets. Offset to the west from the intersection, a single road leads in and out of the south campus. The proposed plan would create one intersection, with a traffic signal and crosswalks, so all cars to either campus would enter and exit from the same spot on 43rd. According to Issaquah
SEE MARKET, PAGE 3
SEE SIGNAL, PAGE 5
SUNNY HILLS ELEMENTARY DEBUTS NEW LOOK As the first day of school began Sept. 1 for students and teachers in the Issaquah School District, the excitement for grade-schoolers was perhaps no higher than at the new Sunny Hills Elementary in Sammamish, where teachers, staff and principal Leslie Lederman welcomed parents and their children to the new building. At right, Sunny Hills Elementary fourth-grader Mariem Zait (left) and her sister, first-grader Marya, smile for a picture by their mother Anissa as they arrive for the first day of class. PHOTOS BY GREG FARRAR | gfarrar@sammamishreview.com
Council tours market at The Village BY LIZZ GIORDANO
lgiordano@sammamishreview.com
Members of the City Council and city staff last week received a glimpse of the under-construction Metropolitan Market, a much-anticipated anchor for Sammamish Town Center. Planning to join the grocery store for its February 2017 opening will be T-Mobile, Jersey Mike’s Subs, Issaquah Nails and Chipotle Mexican Grill.
Named The Village at Sammamish Town Center, the 6-acre site at the corner of Southeast Fourth Street and 228th Avenue Southeast includes a 159-unit apartment building and a medical pavilion with a variety of shops and restaurants mixed in. According to Tim Russell of TRF Pacific LLC, the developer of the site, more and more people want to live in smaller, more walkable areas, and the mixed-use project provides this option for Sammamish
residents. “People should be able to work there, shop there and live there,” said City Manager Lyman Howard of the new development. “It was good planning on the part of the
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