Concepts for SR-520 corridor to be presented
at open house
Your input is
invited
Actual concepts for the various alternatives being considered for the SR-520 corridor study are beginning to take shape. Many of those relevant to our neighborhood will be unveiled for community response at an open house on Tuesday, March 6 between 6:00 and 9:00pm at the Museum of History and Industry. Plan to attend and provide your input about what you like and what you don't like. You will help guide the process of narrowing the alternatives to be examined in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement, which will be completed over the coming year.
Resolution on SR-520 EIS content to be proposed at MCC General Meeting
A resolution will be proposed at the
March 14 meeting of the Montlake Community Club, requesting that the Trans-Lake
Washington Study Committee be required to provide certain specific information
on the effects to the Montlake/SR-520 interchange of any SR-520 corridor
concepts included in the environmental impact statement (EIS).
The proposed resolution specifies that
concepts included in the EIS should be supported by five types of information:
1. A detailed illustration of any physical
features for handling traffic flow, volume or transportation mode.
2. Design traffic volumes and direction at each
intersection and ramp, based on current and projected year 2020 Seattle City
Growth Plan volumes.
3. Number
of lanes (including left-turn and merge lanes) and traffic signal details.
4. Specific
impacts to local streets and properties and necessary mitigation measures and
costs.
5. Effects on current and future City of Seattle
SR-520 interchange plans and compliance with the Seattle Comprehensive Plan.
Complete text of the proposed resolution
is printed in an article below.
President’s Corner
We had a good turnout for the CPR training at the February (Valentine's Day) general meeting. Our thanks to Charles Murphy of Medic 2 for his patient and thorough instruction. Please continue to note the slow but steady developments on the Trans-Lake Washington Project. Amy Grotefendt of EnviroIssues is furnishing a brief update to the Flyer each month.
The March meeting will give residents an opportunity to bring to SeaTrans’ attention any problems you face at specific intersections in the neighborhood. We are attempting to document the arterial/intersection congestion that needs to be corrected on surface streets in Montlake. Please attend and make your concerns heard in public forum.
--Clarissa Easton
Board Meeting Minutes
February 7,
2001 The
Board of Trustees of the Montlake Community Club convened at 7:35pm at the
Montlake Community Center, with president Clarissa Easton presiding. Members
Burgett, Dubman, Doran, Gibson, Hutchinson, Jacobson, Judson, Leed, Kolb, and
Thompson were present.
The meeting was held jointly with the Transportation Committee, which was represented by Bruce Balick and Ron Stenkamp, in addition to the board members who also serve on the committee.
The major part of the meeting was taken up with a presentation and discussion conducted by the Trans-Lake Study community affairs team: Jeff Peacock (Parametrix), Amy Grotefendt (EnviroIssues), and Les Rubstello (Wash. State Dept. of Transportation).
Mr. Peacock led the discussion, stating in introductory remarks that the team’s objective was to provide a status report, emphasizing progress since the last report to the community (November general meeting). He provided a 14-chart handout which he used as a guide for his presentation.
The first new information was the current project timeline, which shows the selection of design alternatives for EIS evaluation completed by July; publication of the draft EIS in the spring of next year; and final selection of an alternative by the end of 2002. This would permit construction (if approved and funded) to begin early in 2004.
Mr. Peacock was asked about the state legislature's role in this study. He indicated that the legislature has ex-officio membership (two senators and two house members ) on the executive committee, so there is on-going involvement and communication.
He acknowledged that, no matter what decisions are reached by the study committees, the legislature has the final say. A fact sheet that identified the membership of the three study committees was distributed.
Some new ideas were discussed on the construction alternatives. Regarding high-capacity, cross-lake transit, Mr. Peacock indicated that the optimum terminals for this facility appear to be the Bellevue Transit Center and the south end of the Seattle bus tunnel. This makes a lake crossing between I-90 and SR-520 much more direct than using either bridge. He indicated that a tunnel under the lake is under consideration. Regarding the SR-520 bridge, he said that five alternatives remain under consideration, from rebuilding in its present configuration to adding one general purpose and one HOV lane in each direction. He mentioned that a new bridge could be built with "stacked" lanes as an alternative to increased width.
Jean Leed mentioned that an unsolicited proposal for reconfiguring the bridge had just been given to the Trans-Lake Study Advisory Committee (on which she serves), and she provided copies to those present. In brief, it suggests adding one general purpose lane in each direction from Montlake Boulevard eastward, with the outer westbound lane exiting at Montlake. The proposal would limit traffic from Montlake Boulevard onto westbound SR-520 (up the Portage Bay viaduct) to HOV only.
The presentation included community design workshop summaries from three geographic areas along SR-520; Seattle neighborhoods, west of I-405 to Lake Washington; and east of I-405 to Redmond. Mr. Peacock pointed out that neighborhood concerns were similar in all three areas, with objections to traffic on residential streets near interchanges, access to transit on the corridor, and protecting neighborhoods along the freeway being some of the common themes.
The next step in the study, according to the presenters, is to combine individual alternatives into "multi-modal packages", or combinations, the survivors of which will become the alternatives treated in the EIS. Another series of open houses has been scheduled during March to allow communities to review some preliminary design sketches. They expect these will include anticipated traffic volumes. The first of these workshops will be in Montlake at the Museum of History and Industry, from 5 to 9pm on March 6.
A lengthy discussion period followed the presentation. Many of the questions asked had no answers yet, but the following points were made:
·
The
year-plus interval between final decision by the Executive Committee and the
beginning of any construction is an estimated time needed for the mandated
federal review process and for obtaining financing.
·
Quantitative
information (estimates of traffic volumes, etc.) will start to be seen at the
March open houses, but it will be some time yet before much is available.
·
Lid
concepts will be part of the design ideas at the workshops.
·
The
current uncertainty in the I-90 reconfiguration plan complicates SR-520
corridor planning.
·
Reconsidering
the number of highway lanes as a result of problems encountered in interchange
designs could become necessary, but would require a new EIS.
·
Construction
staging will have to be considered in detail in the EIS, and crossing Foster
Island will be a problem.
·
Because
it was part of the Interstate Highway System, 90% of the cost of the Mercer
Island lid was covered by the Federal Government. That formula doesn't apply to
SR-520.
·
Zoning
changes resulting from any Trans-Lake related construction would probably be
limited to areas around transit stations to enhance the stations.
Moving on to general MCC
board business, Ellen Judson reported that the Library Board is now considering
the property east of Montlake Boulevard between E. Hamlin Street and SR-520 as
a site for the Montlake library. She believed that the appeal of this site was
that it was undeveloped and apparently available, and it would eliminate no
residences (in line with the MCC resolution).
Paul Gibson mentioned that
the next steps in the Arboretum Master Plan and EIS process will be a
presentation by the Parks Department to the City Council committee in late
March, and a hearing by the full Council two weeks later. He also asked that
board members provide their views on a motion coming before the NEDC regarding
its endorsement of a new landlord-tenant law. He planned to send details of the
motion to board members by email after the meeting.
Jonathan Dubman distributed
a draft for the standing rules ("policy") for the MCC site on the
World Wide Web, and asked that board members review it in preparation for
discussion and adoption in some form at a future meeting. He also suggested the
club consider the merits of a new proposal for rerouting the Sound Transit
light rail tunnel from Capitol Hill to the UW Rainier Vista via the Montlake
SR-520 Flyer station, rather than the planned route to the intersection of NE
Pacific and 15th Ave. NE under Portage Bay. He volunteered to try to obtain
Sound Transit's reaction to this suggestion.
Jean Leed asked that the
board and transportation committee members review the SR-520 bridge proposal
she had passed out earlier and provide her with comments.
President Easton said she
was considering a Master Gardener program for the March general meeting and
asked for other ideas. Diane Thompson mentioned the need for involvement in
developing the Montlake Community Center capital improvement plan. John
Hutchinson suggested a meeting be devoted to discussing ideas for the ramps
between Montlake and SR-520. Jean Leed suggested the meeting be held in
conjunction with Trans-Lake Study community open house at MOHAI on March 6.
Shane Doran reported that
the nominating committee is looking for candidates and for additional committee
members.
The meeting was adjourned at
9:40 p.m.
General Meeting Minutes
February 14, 2001 There are no general meeting
minutes this month. Instead of
a general business meeting, the Montlake Community Club arranged for a
Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) course for community members at 6:30pm on
February 14. The course was taught by Charles Murphy, a retired member of the
Seattle Fire Department, and sponsored by the Medic II, a program of the Fire
Department.
PROPOSED RESOLUTION
The Membership
of the Montlake Community Club asks that the Scope of Work for Trans-Lake
Washington Study EIS include the following:
A. For
each SR-520 alternative selected for inclusion in the EIS, an illustrative
design shall be provided showing traffic improvements or alterations at the
Montlake SR-520 interchange. The designs shall show what improvements are
required for managing additional traffic or change in transportation modes
created by the alternative. For this purpose, the Montlake Interchange shall be
taken to extend along 24th Avenue East and East Montlake Place East and
Montlake Boulevard East, from the intersection of 24th Avenue East with East
Louisa Street on the south, to the intersection of Montlake Boulevard East with
Northeast Pacific Street on the north, and include all the street intersections
between; and shall include the Arboretum on- and off-ramps.
B. Design
volumes and directions at each intersection shall be the sum of estimated
growth of in-city traffic volumes (based on adopted growth plans for the City
of Seattle) plus estimated volumes to and from the Montlake interchange and the
SR-520 ramps for each SR-520 alternative. The baseline volumes shall be
existing volumes in the year 2000. The design volumes and directions shall be
those projected for the year 2020.
C. Each
design shall include the following information: number and direction of traffic
lanes required to accommodate projected 2020 traffic on local streets at the
Interchange; signalization for each intersection, including phase time and
sequence; number and dimensions (length) of left-turn lanes on Montlake
Boulevard; number and dimensions of merge lanes on Montlake Boulevard exiting
SR-520; number and dimensions of queuing lanes leading from Montlake Boulevard
to SR-520.
D. Each
design shall specify what mitigations are necessary to limit the environmental
impacts of the design on the local street system and adjacent properties,
together with their estimated costs.
E. Each
design shall describe how that design may affect current or future plans of the
City of Seattle for the Montlake Interchange, and assess its effect on
applicable Level of Service standards ("Concurrency") of the Seattle
Comprehensive Plan.
Announcements and Notices
Montlake Community Center News
Montlake
Summer Camps. This year
we are planning an extensive 10-week summer day camp and sports camp schedule.
Activities include Montlake and McGilvra Day Camps for ages 6 to 10 and
Pre-Camp for ages 3 to 5. The Pre-Teen Camp for ages 10 to 12 will be located
at the Madison Bathhouse. Teen Camp for ages 10 to 14 will be based at
Montlake. Sports Camps for children 6 to 12 include basketball, soccer, baseball
and an all-sport camp. Information will be available at the Community center
March 5. Mail-in registration begins April 2.
Job
opportunities. We have
community service positions available for high school students. This is a great
opportunity to complete your school requirements and showcase your skills in
preparation for summer hiring. We will be hiring staff for the summer beginning
March 19 and 20. Please let your college student know there are good
opportunities available at Montlake this summer.
Spring
Sports. Track and Girls
Softball begin March 27. Sports Unlimited and Indoor Soccer begin the first
week of April. These activities are for the little athlete.
Spring Egg
Hunt is Saturday April
14 at 10:00am. There will be separate hunts for each age group and every child
will leave with a prize or candy egg.
For additional
information. Call Anita Adams, Assistant Recreation Center Coordinator at
206-684-4736, email: anita.adams@ci.seattle.wa.us.
Committee Reports
Beautification Committee
At the next meeting there will be a discussion of the proposed improvements to the lot at 24th and Boyer. If anyone has any ideas for improvements or is willing to volunteer to join work parties at the site, please plan to attend. If you are unable to attend please email Mimi DeBurle at MMDE@msn.com or call me at 322-8660.
Husky Stadium Advisory Group
The Husky
Stadium Advisory Group (HSAG) met Thursday February 15 to review the traffic
management plan for the Huskies and for the Seahawks use of Husky Stadium.
Various standards of performance had been set by City Council as a condition
for an occupancy permit for both teams. Although the Huskies have not yet
submitted a report, the Seahawks presented a 20-page report with all sort of
details. To make a long story short, they met or exceeded almost all of the
performance requirements.
However, there
was general agreement that RPZ parking enforcement in Montlake had been a
chronic problem. Some of the problem was that the number of enforcement
officers was small: the City started with four for the August games. By the end
of the season the Seahawks were paying for thirteen officers, and the number of
citations increased substantially. In addition, the City has raised the parking
ticket fee from $28 to $44. Even so, pockets of parking violations persisted.
The new head of the RPZ program for the City promised much better enforcement
this year. Enforcement will get off to an energetic start.
Other problems
were reviewed. The Seahawks believe that the complaints of Montlake residents,
as reported on their Hotline, have been resolved satisfactorily. For example,
after-game trash pickup has been effective. Almost all of the street vendors
have been herded onto the grounds of the campus. Still, stray post-game light
from the Stadium has emerged as a major concern. This issue is being actively
pursued by CUCAC. The next HSAG meeting is likely to be in late spring.
CUCAC Meeting Report
The City University Community Advisory Committee
(CUCAC) held its regular monthly meeting on Tuesday, February 13, 2001at the
South Campus Center (Hub). Of particular interest was the subject of night
lighting for sports fields. Here I digress, sports facilities at the University
of Washington are controlled by two entities: the Intramural program funded by
student fees and the Intercollegiate program funded by the Athletic Department.
Each controls its lights at different intensities for different purposes.
The Intramural program is planning to rebuild a
three-field soccer area north of the IMA Building for all-year use and night
lighted to about 11:00pm. Eight banks of high-intensity lamps on 80-foot poles
are planned. The architects guarantee that the illumination will be directed
DOWN on the field. In addition, a rebuilt golf driving range is being planned
with new night lighting on 10- foot poles! The recently constructed
intercollegiate soccer and baseball fields in the vicinity now have lighting on
90-foot poles. This area will soon be forest of silvery trees without leaves.
Some folks are beginning to question the effect on daytime views!
Husky Stadium night lighting has been a concern
to Montlakers and many others. The big question is: Why are the bright lights
on at night many days after Rose Bowl team and band practice are no longer
necessary? And what about power conservation? The short answer provided to
CUCAC members is that the field is being used by Intramural sports every night
until 11:00pm. Lights are controlled by Athletic Department people, not the
Intramural people! It would seem that someone has been asleep at the switch
some nights! All this "will change" once the new soccer field,
mentioned above, is completed with its new all-year Astroturf, like that in
Husky Stadium, and the Intramural people have control of their own lights!
Incidentally, in the past week or so, the sports managers have determined that
25 percent of full power is sufficient for intramural sports and lighting
intensity is being adjusted accordingly. CUCAC unanimously agreed to formally
request a policy statement from the University regarding night lighting. More
on that later!
The University plans to start construction of
its new (and controversial) Law School in September 2001 and complete same July
2003. It will stand in an existing parking area east of 15th Avenue
between 43rd and 41st Streets. Exterior of the building,
as viewed by "us", the public, has been described by some to look
like a prison! Its facing will be of some undetermined brick pattern and stand
about 80 feet above the level of 15th and set back from the street
about 40 feet. Plans also include removal of part of the wall along 15th
and integration into a plaza for a Sound Transit station. Copies of the
architect's drawings are available for review.
NEDC Meeting Report
The February meeting of the NEDC featured a
progress report on Magnuson Park and an advisory from the Washington Department
of Transportation. Magnuson Park planning is continuing apace. There will be a
library branch, community gardens—including a large peapatch—and much more: a
non-motorized boating center, some artists’ studios, artificial and natural
turf playfields suitable for a variety of sports, off-leash dog area with water
access, a swimming area, a power boat launch, and a wetland area. Designs for
some of these features are ready to go the City Council for approval so that
work can begin soon.
The northbound lanes of I-5 between the
University District and Northgate are to be resurfaced this summer between mid
June and late July. They will be done in pairs, leaving the remaining lanes
available for use. The NE 50th street onramp will be closed for 10
days to 2 weeks. Exact dates have not been set, but will be between June 10 and
July 31. The work should result in a much smoother and quieter ride.
Some readers may like to know of the
Transportation Choices Coalition campaign called “1/3 For Choices.” The
campaign has the goal of having 1/3 of new transportation funding go to
so-called choices; i.e., alternatives to auto transport. The web site is www.transportationchoices.org.
For the second year the City is running
concurrent processes for the distribution of Neighborhood Street Fund (NSF) and
Cumulative Reserve SubFund (CRS) dollars ($500,000 and $1,000 respectively) for
capital projects. The NSF provides money for street-related construction
projects such as traffic circles. The CRS is used exclusively to rehabilitate
and/or repair existing City-owned facilities. Applications will be due on April
2, but it is not too soon to get started. The forms are very simple and do not
even require a proposed solution. Simply identifying a problem could result in
winning a grant to be applied to solve it. Go to
cityofseattle.net/npo/nsfcrs.htm
for forms or contact me at 323-1851.
Letter to the Editor
Montlake Neighbors,
I live on Hamlin Street. I walk my dog around here every day. More and more, I am navigating both of us through dog droppings. I am amazed because it is such a beautiful neighborhood and I see my own neighbors walking their dogs without plastic bags in hand. I am afraid to walk on the grass after dark because I have “stepped in it” one too many times. This is a law, but more importantly it is a respectful gesture to people who would like to walk through this beautiful neighborhood.
--Mari
Stevens