Sims urges revised Dinner Train route

Woodinville

The Spirit of Washington Dinner Train has received a strong message of support from King County Executive Ron Sims.

The train, a popular Eastside tourist attraction that runs from Renton to Woodinville, is expected to end operations in July, when its route paralleling Interstate 405 is severed by highway work to widen the freeway.

The Dinner Train operator and Woodinville and Snohomish, however, have been working on a plan to continue the service, with the train running between those two cities.

In his letter Friday to BNSF Railway, Sims urged that such a replacement plan be made possible.

"The Dinner Train is a regional institution, and provides a unique and wonderful experience enjoyed by locals and visitors of all ages," Sims wrote.

"King County is very interested in having the Dinner Train begin a new service from Woodinville to Snohomish. However, to avoid any break in service, this new route would have to be approved while BNSF still owns the line," he added.

"To that end, we encourage BNSF to work with the Dinner Train to find a way to allow the Dinner Train to operate ... between Woodinville and Snohomish," Sims continued.

The railway has not indicated whether such an arrangement is feasible.

Kirkland

Debris falls off truck on I-405; driver cited

Debris falling off vehicles on freeways continues to be a problem despite new laws trying to prevent such incidents.

The Washington State Patrol reported that a 25-year-old Snohomish man was cited Monday after pulling onto northbound Interstate 405 at Kirkland in a flatbed truck loaded with rocks and dirt and without the required six inches of containment to keep the load in place.

"It proceeded past a trooper who observed him spilling rocks onto the roadway," said Trooper Jeff Merrill, State Patrol public-information officer. "The sheer size of some of the rocks falling onto the roadway could have been catastrophic had the vehicle reached freeway speeds."

The driver was cited and required to adjust the load before leaving the scene.

Falling debris remains one of the most widely reported violations, added Merrill, with 734 incidents reported to the State Patrol in King County in March.

Some 400 collisions are reported each year in the state involving vehicles striking objects or debris in the road.

The state passed new laws intended to enforce secure-load rules after a 2004 accident severely injured Maria Federici. The new laws call for a $194 fine and possible misdemeanor charges if bodily injury occurs.

Eastside

3 more workshops on light-rail plan

The public is asked to attend workshops to learn about and voice opinions on Sound Transit's proposal to extend light rail to the Eastside.

Three more meetings remain. The schedule is:

• Today: 5 to 7 p.m., Community Center at Mercer View, 8236 S.E. 24th St., Mercer Island.

• Thursday: 4 to 7 p.m., Highland Community Center, 14224 N.E. Bellevue-Redmond Road, Bellevue

• Tuesday: 4 to 7 p.m., Redmond City Hall, 15670 N.E. 85th St., Redmond

Two meetings were held last week, one in Bellevue and one in Seattle.

Community members are asked to RSVP for workshops by calling 206-370-5516 or e-mailing eastlink@soundtransit.org. For more information, go to www.soundtransit.org. Maps of the proposed routes are available at the Web site.

Seattle Times Eastside bureau