Summertime 2010, and our 520 work goes on…
The Coalition for a Sustainable SR 520 continues to work steadily to prevent the current awful plans from happening. The “preferred alternative” would add congestion, noise, and health problems to our area without solving the underlying need to get people more easily to their destinations.
We have done a lot of work on the prospects for financing SR 520. Look for interesting results in the near future! The Gogerty Marriott firm is helping us with how best to present this information to the public.
Coalition members have been active in interviewing candidates for various public offices. We ask you all to get involved in the upcoming elections; make sure that candidates in your area are opposed to the preferred alternative, and will only support a solution which is financially feasible, which limits lanes 5 and 6 to bus and/or light rail, which has adequate lids and noise protection, and which has 4 lanes only from Montlake to I-5. These features would take care of most of the issues.
The traffic issues are central to all our communities, and the proposed plans would congeal Montlake, Portage Bay, Roanoke Park, and north Capitol Hill. They would also prevent people in Laurelhurst and Madison Park from being able to get to and from their neighborhoods. We have defined the issues for the city, and asked the mayor to take a strong stand. We will continue working with the city. Our lawyer is also working to make sure that the city and state don’t swap properties in advance of the final environmental review.
The taking of open space and parks is another central issue. We may be forced into lawsuits once the final environmental review is published, but meanwhile we continue to talk with elected officials on the need to preserve our heritage … bays, trees, parkland, open space. The historic site issues are being worked by Roanoke Park, Montlake, and the boating communities. They’ve done fine, steady work but not much to report now.
The legislature formed three workgroups which will be addressing issues related to SR 520. The city council will be holding hearings, and we will be asking you to come to some of those hearings.
We have had zero response to our comments on the SDEIS. They are on record in case we need them for lawsuits later, and it’s unfortunate that no one seems to have read them… they contain a lot of information that would be useful to city, state, and federal officials.
So there is a great deal of work going on, laying foundations we will use later. Thanks once more for your support!
Fran Conley,coordinator,206- 328-4444; Ted Lane, President Roanoke Park /Portage Bay Community Council ; Anita Bowers, Jonathan Dubman, and Robert Rosencrantz, Montlake Community Council; Maurice Cooper, Madison Park Community Council; Colleen McAleer and Jean Amick, Laurelhurst Community Club; Nancy Brainard, North Capitol Hill Neighborhood Association; Gary Stone, boating community. Fundraising chair Mabry DeBuys. Treasurer Mary Ann Mundy
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