Category: Benson Hill

New I-405 Exit 3, Talbot Road, gives Benson Hill and Fairwood better access to the north

Written by Randy Corman 8 Comments


Washington Secretary of Transportation Paula Hammond victoriously holds up the cut ribbon on the new Talbot interchange, with cheerful Renton officials, state officials and builders at her side. Photo from Auburn Reporter.

I enjoyed participating in a festive ribbon cutting ceremony today on a new on-ramp to I-405. There were due congratulations all the way around for the completed project. After 8 years of planning, and a year and half of aggressive construction, Merlino Construction (a Renton firm) delivered the new I-405 Exit eight months ahead of schedule. Furthermore, their construction design/build team process helped bring the project in under budget.

The new on and off-ramps will save significant drive time (as much as five to ten minutes) for motorists living on Benson Hill and desiring to take I-405 toward Bellevue. Likewise, the new on and off ramps will save time for motorists making their way from north to south Renton. For instance my wife, who takes our kids from our North Renton Highlands home to the Homeschool HOME program at Spring Glen Elementary, will now be able to take I-405 to exit 3, and then simply head up Talbot. The new ramps will also reduce the congestion on the Rainier Ave on and off ramps, as well as reduce traffic on Grady between Rainier and Talbot. This will be a great step for congestion relief.

The event was well-covered by TV and other local media, so I’ll leave it to them to communicate all the details. Here is one of the first articles I have found posted. UPDATE 7:10PM Here is the story, with more detail, in Renton Patch.

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Renton Mayor Denis Law addresses public officials, builders and citizens assembled to mark the opening of the new Talbot on and off ramps. (This photo is on the on-ramp, under the new Benson Bridge, facing north-east.)

New Renton Planning Commisioner appointed from Benson Hill; Welcome Ed Prince

Written by Randy Corman 4 Comments

The Renton Planning Commission is a board of skilled Renton volunteers, (often with backgounds in community leadership, planning, architecture, engineering, and similar fields) who receive and review land-use testimony and make land-use recommendations to the City Council.

Last night, Council approved Mayor Law’s appointment of a new planning commissioner who lives in the recently-annexed Benson Hill Neighborhood.

The new Commisioner, Ed Prince, will give Benson Hill their own member of this important city commision. (All the commisioners represent the city at large, but it is advantageous to have commisioners reside in a variety of neighborhoods.)

Ed has been active in his community for many years, and is well known and respected by the Mayor and City Council. He will be a great addition to the Planning Commission.

Please join us in welcoming him.

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Benson Hill Resident Ed Prince, 33, was just appointed to the Renton Planning Commission

Six tons of trash picked up in Benson Hill so far; speeders ticketed for 25-over marked speed

Written by Randy Corman 2 Comments

City services have been extended to Renton’s newest residents of Benson hill this week. City road crews report that they have already picked up 6 tons of trash along road ways, and police officers note they are starting to deal with local enforcement problems.

In one highly visible move, officers have been issuing many, many warnings, and a few citations, to speeders on Benson Highway who need to SLOW DOWN when they get inside of Renton City limits. the police chief reports that the first day on the job, police stopped dozens of speeders on this road to let them know that speed enforcement was going to be taken seriously. In kindness however, they only issued citations to the four worst offenders of the day, all of whom were speeding more than 25 miles per hour over the posted speed. And three of the four cited speeders did not live in the new boundaries of Renton.

Considering we had a speed-related fatality in December in this area, 25 MPH over the limit is just plain reckless.

In coming weeks, lesser violations will switch from warnings to citations…so please slow down. Remember, the police are trying to keep us all safe.

Benson Hill Business Outreach Meeting (Includes home business issues/questions)

Written by Randy Corman 0 Comments

Renton staff are coordinating with Benson Hill Businesses in preparation for annexation. Below is a meeting notice that was sent out to the business community:

Note this meeting is intended to address business issues primarily, and the space is probably not large enough to accommodate many others, but those of you conducting home-business would be included in this group. And don’t fret…Renton allows reasonable home business, as long as certain conditions are met. I helped draft this ordinance many years ago. I’m sure this will be a topic discusssed.

See the business outreach meeting notice by clicking here

Agreement with King County helps Renton with Benson Hill to the tune of 1.7 Million

Written by Randy Corman 1 Comment

The King County Council has approved 1.7 million dollars of County funds to help us defray that costs of annexing the Benson Hill neighborhood. This was money we were counting on based on an agreement we had reached with the County last year, and the money is earmarked for new equipment, hiring, and other start-up costs related to Benson hill. So it is not exactly a windfall, but it will certainly help prevent existing Rentonites from having to take a hit in service as a result of the annexation.

Our City’s annexation specialist, Marty Wine, worked very hard to put this agreement in place. She did an outstanding job bringing this funding to us.


Marty Wine

Here is the complete story, covered very well by the Renton Reporter:

CLICK HERE!

Renton’s downtown is already Benson Hill’s downtown

Written by Randy Corman 4 Comments

From Benson Hill resident Kari Kopnick:

It’s been a long week. Somehow, I’m not sure how this happened exactly, but somehow, it’s almost Christmas. Again. And somehow, again, I’m not done with my Christmas shopping. For anyone. Even the dog.

So my dear husband and I decided to take a break from the shopping and budget and deciphering of our sons’ Christmas lists and go out for a quick pint of beer here in our local town. Now, Downtown Renton has a lot of great little spots to grab a quick pint. I love The Whistle Stop and always try to lure anyone who wants to meet for a lunch meeting to come and split sweet potato fries with me there.

The Dog and Pony is great, with a fantastic list of local beers that is always changing. And Giant’s Causeway is a treat, especially if you catch the live music.

But if you’re out looking for a place to grab a quick date on a Sunday night, those aren’t even an option. All closed. It’s quiet on Sunday nights here in our town, the Piazza is all lit up, the transit center looks active. But there aren’t a lot of our eateries and pubs open.

So my husband and I wound up in one of the hang outs in town we like best: La Hacienda. Once last fall we even stopped in to celebrate our friend’s new tattoo from Diamond Lil’s. It was full blast– fun, great service and fantastic food. So we hit La Hacienda at, oh about 8 on Sunday night.

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The place was pretty empty, just a few folks hanging out at the bar and a few couples eating and chatting, good music on the jukebox, and a nice waiter. Gustavo took our whining for a dark beer seriously and told us about Negro Modelo, a Mexican beer which turned out to be good—smooth and not too heavy but with a good bite to it. We even split a second one. I think Gustavo was just showing off but he brought us new chilled glasses and I swear to the Christmas elves he split the bottle of beer perfectly between the glasses, must have been down to the drop. He kept us stocked up on the amazing pico de gallo and salsa, and brought our check fast so we could get home and back to stressing out about our how soon Christmas is coming.
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Suppose once we get annexed we’ll have nice spots to eat over on Benson Hill? I mean, I love the new Pho World by Fred Meyer, but it’s just not the same as heading to a downtown. Even our little downtown. I love it. Hey, maybe I should head there during the day well, you know, for some Christmas shopping. Maybe someone will even meet me for some of those sweet potato fries when I’m done!

Kari Kopnick

(see Kari’s other entries by clicking the tag below)

Kari Kopnick, in the Benson Hill Annexation area, has agreed to write a regular column for this site

Written by Randy Corman 0 Comments

I’ve been in touch with a few excellent writers and a couple additional photographers to help me add frequent interesting content to this website.

I’m very pleased that starting in December, Kari Kopnick will begin documenting and sharing her first-hand experiences and observations as her King County neighborhood transitions into the city of Renton. Kari and I expect this process to be interesting for many months, given the size of the annexation and all the new employees that will be added. Kari is prepared to keep us informed until the dust settles. Right now she is working on some other writing assignments, so she won’t be able to begin for a couple of weeks.

 

Kari Kopnick