228th Ave Northeast, Union Hill

On the corner of 228th and Redmond-Fall City Road is Louisa May Alcott Elementary School, in the Lake Washington School District (LWSD). As you enter the street the school is on your left and opposite the school is the local fire station. Fire fighters have volunteered at the school for various activities and even hosted field trips for the children. At Alcott Elementary there is a new annual competition "The Egg Drop" and the firefighters park the fire engine in the sport court area within the school and drop the kids' inventions from the raised ladder.

There is a great sense of community spirit here. People wave hello, smile and talk; forging friendships among themselves and their children. When school begins and ends each day, the safety patrol - consisting of 5th and 6th graders - man the crosswalks with adult supervision and make sure the children cross safely.

Whenever there is a school event the parking situation is difficult. The parking lot does not have enough spaces for these events, so cars overflow onto the street and park on the shoulders. This makes it difficult to see people coming out between the cars, opening their car doors and crossing the street if they are not near the crosswalk. It is pretty scary during these times when you are walking with a stroller or young children. However, as any resident here knows this is not an unusual occurrence, so residents are ever vigilant and conscientious during these times.

As you continue up the street there is a very steep winding curve in the road that became treacherous over the winter break during the storm. It was almost impossible to reach the crest of the hill, but luckily we had AWD. My daughter was not so lucky and my husband needed to collect her from the bottom of the hill. Motorists need to be especially careful as they are rounding this curve uphill or downhill as joggers and walkers seem to suddenly appear. The speed limit is important here for the safety of all its citizens.