Redmond Pool Reopens This Week With Some Restrictions For COVID

City of Redmond Pool

Construction of the Redmond Pool is complete, and the facility reopens this week for public use with some restrictions. The City's operational partner, WAVE Aquatics, is offering a modified program that includes reservation-only public lap swim, recreational and competitive swim team use, modified-format swim lessons, and more.  Lap swim prices are exceptionally high...$10.00

• Redmond Limited Lap Swim schedule May 3rd - May 9th

  • M-F 9:30 - 10:30 am​ Lap Swim

  • M-F 11:55 am - 12:55 pm​ Lap Swim

  • M,W,F 1:00 - 2:00 pm Senior Swim

  • M-F 8:30 - 9:30 pm​ Lap Swim​​​

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• Redmond Weekly Lap Swim schedule May 10th - June 20th

  • M-F 6:15 - 7:15 am​ Lap Swim

  • M-F 7:20 - 8:20 am Lap Swim

  • M,W,F 7:20 - 8:20 am Shallow Aerobics

  • M-F 8:25 - 9:25 am Lap Swim

  • M-F 9:30 - 10:30 am Lap Swim

  • M-F 11:55 am - 12:55 pm Lap Swim

  • M,W,F 1:00 - 2:00 pm Senior Swim

  • M,W,F 8:30 - 9:30 pm Lap Swim

  • Sat 1:15 - 2:30 pm Lap Swim (75 minutes)

  • Sun 11:45 am - 1:00 pm Lap Swim (75 minutes)

  • Sun 1:15 - 2:30 pm Lap Swim (75 minutes)

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• Maximum two swimmers per lane

  • 25-yd lap pool or 14-yd shallow end

  • Lap swimming/water exercise only

  • One swimmer per reservation

  • No spectators, except for an under-18 participant accompanied by one parent/guardian

• Reservations are required through the Customer Portal​; be sure to select the correct location!

  • Space is limited

  • Reservations for the upcoming week open on Fridays at 12:00 pm​

  • Account creation, waiver agreement & payment required to secure a spot

• Updated admission fees as of September 25th:

  • Lap Swim: $10

  • Lap Swim—Shallow end only: $7.50

  • Senior Swim / Shallow Aerobics: $5

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• 6 ft. social distancing in effect at all times

• Face masks required at all times when not in the pool

• Participants must arrive 15 minutes early for mandatory check in

  • Failure to arrive early and complete the pre-session screening and safety briefing will result in denial of entry

  • Self-report temperature checks

  • Respond to screening questions

  • Pre-session safety briefing

• Locker room use extremely limited​

  • Arrive ready to swim​

  • Deck changing is not allowed—please wear your swimsuit to the pool!

  • Set your bag in the designated area on deck

  • Bring your own towel

  • Shower at home

• One-way facility entry and exit​

Source:  redmond.gov, 5/6/2021

L.W. School District Buys 25 Acres For Future Schools

Lake Washington School District 
Learning Areas

With 16,000 housing units planned for development in the next 10 years the District is scrambling for any buildable land they can find.  Luck has it, Cadman Gravel was willing to sell the District 25.46 acres.  The land is in S.E. Redmond, east of SR 520 and south of Union Hill.  Federal Express is directly to the West; Costco is just northwest. 

Elementary and secondary schools can be accommodated on the parcel.  One of the finest amenities, in my opinion, is it's proximity to nature preserves, trails and parks. It abuts the riparian habitat of Evans Creek while keeping within the Urban Growth Boundary.  Thousands of housing units may be built south of the property; students can walk to school.  The land is adjacent to a dynamic commercial district.  The regional amenities of light rail, Marymoor Park and trails are not far-off.  

The purchase price is $40,000,000.  Funding sources are:  the Rose Hill property sale ($18,000,000,) April 2016 bond project balance ($20,000.000,) and the Capital Levy. The bond and levy received construction assistance funds.  

Superintendent Barbara Posthumous spent plenty of time talking about the growth within our region, 
pressuring the District.  Some of the news is alarming:   King County is the fourth largest county in the country by population growth; LWSD is the fastest growing District in King county.  LWSD enrollment has grown by 31% (7,337 students) since 2008 and is expecting continued growth of 11% for the next ten years, bringing in an additional 3,450 students. The majority of the district’s schools are at or over capacity, and continued population growth will only exacerbate this.

Totem Lake is projected to have 3,600 new housing units within ten years; with downtown Kirkland and Rose Hill 1900 new units.  The City of Redmond city center and Marymoor Village are projected to have 3200 new units.  Sammamish projects 1274 units in the next ten years.  Redmond has the largest growth of any city in the District.

Twenty-nine of 41 schools are at or over capacity at this time.  LWSD is the second largest District in the State.  

Ongoing business growth on the Eastside is rapid:  Google plans to add up to 1 million square feet of office space in Kirkland. Amazon is bringing 300-600 engineers to Redmond.  A major Facebook business unit is moving onto Willows Road; the large Proctor housing development will service them.

--Reported by Bob Yoder, 4/22/2021

I want to thank Barbara Posthumous, Associate Superintendent of Business and Support for her excellent presentation on the land purchase.  Ms. Posthumous is also the C.F.O. of the District.  Barbara gave her presentation during the District Business Meeting of April 19th.  

UPDATED OPINION: 5/16/2021::Safety Aside: LIME e-Scooters Could Be The Answer To Light Rail Access.

Note:  The scooter can go uphill (actually to the top into Ed. Hill neighborhoods)
and it fits on this particular sidewalk.

                      
As part of the Redmond Transportation Master Plan, bicycle and e-scooter "sharing" support the City’s vision to improve travel choices and mobility. The scooters will give Redmond travelers micromobility options as the average trip in Redmond is 2.2 miles, which is about a 15-minute bike or scooter ride."  (C.O.R.); vitally important when light rail arrives in 2024. 

BELIEVE IT OR NOT on February 24th 2020 reporter Kristina Moy of the Post Intelligencer wrote:  "2019 was a banner year for Lime Redmond. And thanks to its riders, Lime Redmond hit several milestones. Last year, 17,000 unique riders (or the equivalent of 1/4 of the population of Redmond) rode a scooter in Redmond in less than 6 months of operation and 30.9% of riders reported their last scooter trip replaced a car trip. This means that Redmond scooter riders took 21,057 miles of car travel of Redmond roads in 2019."  Ecstasy, lousy reporting or propaganda?  I don't trust Lime.

On February 24, 2020, Ms. Moy reported Lime Redmond expects to surpass its 2019 milestones with the addition of Group Ride which will allow riders to unlock up to five scooters on the same host account and Lime Pass, a discounted subscription pass.  Have you seen Group Ride?

Well, apparently Lime, and Redmond commuters had a very good year in 2019 though I don't recall seeing more than a dozen riders then; and around four this year.  Most all riders were in their 20's or under; just like today.  It appears scooters aren't used at all for commuting, rather mostly for recreation. Why do we see these Limes scattered around the City and in our neighborhoods? Is the City trying to condition us?  Educate us?  

Light rail won't arrive for more than three years.  The city planner seems too far ahead of himself. In my opinion, he's justifying his job.

SAFETY:  You can't talk about Limes without thinking of safety. The following are serious concerns:

1)  Helmets "shall be worn."   97% don't.  When the City gets serious about Limes I suggest they beef up their bicycle police force to warn or enforce the $30 fine.  

2) My wife and I saw a mother scootering down 164th with her 3-year old hanging onto the stem. No comment.

3)  Allowing scooters to share sidewalks with pedestrians makes walking uncomfortable and dangerous. 

4) Maintenance:  If you ever biked the Sammamish River Trail you'd know the value a bell has for safety.  I noticed on a downtown walk a few didn't work; it makes you wonder what else needs fixing and maintaining.    

Urban micromobilty with scooters will be vital when light rail comes to Redmond.  It's good the City is being proactive in preparing for that "big moment."   Currently, Lime ridership is terribly weak, even with this good weather. Next year should be more of the same, though post-pandemic behaviors must be considered. Now is not the time to collect data from pilot programs. ndemic commuting behaviors 

Traffic congestion and parking isn't so severe that Limes are needed for mitigation.  Light rail won't be here until 2024.  We have ample time to stop this experiment and study other cities' programs launching LIME  in 2023.  

-- Bob Yoder, opinion

    Photo, Bob

   4/20/2021