If you see a speed-reader board like the one pictured above on your street in unincorporated King County, it’s there because residents in the area have asked King County’s Neighborhood Traffic Safety (NTS) program for help. The program gets more than 1,500 calls a year, and speeding vehicles are the No. 1 complaint.

The NTS program is a multi-faceted program that works with residents to implement solutions to improve safety. The range of options available to residents varies depending on the situation.

The speed-reader board is a subtle way to remind drivers they may be driving too fast for a residential neighborhood. More often than not, it is the residents who live in the area who are the main offenders. Because they are very familiar with the roads and are close to home, they are not always thinking about the consequences of excessive speed in an area with a lot of pedestrians.

The speed-reader boards represent just one way of encouraging drivers to slow down. Another tool is to send a sheriff's officer to the area to monitor traffic and cite drivers who exceed the speed limit. King County’s Road Services Division employs several sheriff’s officers dedicated to traffic enforcement.

In addition to monitoring speed, maintenance crews can do other things - like trim bushes to improve sight lines or repaint street markings - to improve safety for drivers and pedestrians alike.

The key is residents getting involved in the solutions that make their own neighborhood safer. It all begins with a call to the county’s NTS program. Also, the NTS web site offers advice for drivers, parents and residents on steps they can take to improve the safety in their neighborhood. But the tools the county makes available can only take the effort so far; safety is a shared responsibility between the agency that builds roads and the people who use them.

Contact the King County Neighborhood Traffic Safety program by calling (206) 296-6596, or go to the NTS web page for more information.

Starting last weekend, parking and bus boarding locations at the current Eastgate lot were shifted due to the construction of a new five-story parking garage on the lot.

Construction of the new Eastgate Park-and-Ride garage has reached the halfway mark, and parts of the lot must be closed to give the contractor access to the remaining work until the project is complete.

Look for three new bus boarding locations on the west side of the lot, and new ways to enter and exit the lot. Check Metro Online for all the details.

Last week, it was a windstorm that barely touched the west part of the county but clobbered much of east and southeast King County.

On Wednesday, Dec. 3, maintenance was alerted to the potential of high winds starting in the evening. By noon on Thursday, more than a dozen roads in unincorporated King County were closed due to downed trees and power lines.

The maintenance crews stayed on duty through the weekend, cleaning up after the storm and assessing damage. The full impact of the windstorm is still being assessed.

The boarding zone is in Pioneer Square at Main Street and Second Avenue South, across the street from the fire station. The six holiday buses depart at 7 p.m., and it’s first-come-first-served. The trip lasts about 2-1/2 hours.

Fares are $5 for adults, $4 for seniors (65 and over) and $4 for children (2-11). Metro transfers, tickets, or passes are not accepted. Please, no food or beverages onboard the historic buses.

For more information, visit the MEHVA website.