Overflow crowd expresses grave concerns about projected traffic from Point Wells
Thursday, April 17, 2014
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| Overflow crowd for Point Wells meeting Photo by Marc Weinberg |
Text and photos, Marc Weinberg
Wednesday, April 16, 9pm .....Tonight's meeting at Shoreline City Hall regarding the Traffic Corridor Study for the Point Wells Development played to a packed and overflowing crowd. The City had to set up more chairs and that wasn't even enough for the standing room only group that spilled into the lobby. The crowd was estimated to be 200. Many were new faces which I had not seen or heard at other City meetings in this series.
Many of the previous community suggestions were displayed on slides, but there was continued grave concern among those in the most heavily impacted areas along Richmond Beach Drive, Richmond Beach Road and many of the customary 'cut through streets' that are used by residents.
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| Doors had to be opened and chairs set up in the lobby for the overflow crowd Photo by Marc Weinberg |
Those concerns were about the impact to individual neighborhoods, the volume of traffic on major traffic corridors like Richmond Beach Road and how changing that from 4 lanes to 3 with the center being a turn lane can accommodate a four hundred percent increase in volume.
Don't just stay tuned. Go the City website and get involved. The process isn't over and your concerns need to be heard. More people need to be at meetings like the one tonight to send a strong message. Watch for the City Council meetings and do not fail to attend those when this subject is on the agenda which we were told will likely be in June.
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3 comments:
This is over. We've been sold out by our own city. The only thing that will work at this point is civil disobedience. People can block access to Point Wells and be arrested. Make national news and don't stop.
The city's current study area deletes the I-5 intersection at Ballinger way. It does not study connecting to the existing Bus terminal at Aurora Village. Look at the map Both sites are outside the study area. Do people really believe no one is going to head north from the proposed development. The original corridor study requested by the planning commission in its Point Wells Sub area plan included the impacts to the Ballinger neighborhood. Remember, what happens in Richmond Beach does not stay in Richmond Beach. We live and work in a region where people travel both north and south. Excluding the north end of our city from the impacts created by this development is short sited. The entire north king county and south snohomish county area will be impacted. It doesn't matter to the average commuter what county you are in! We all are trying to get to common locations. King and Snohomish Counties as well as the developer need to work together to create a transportation network that will serve all of the citizens on both sides of the border.
So there were some new faces. The City heavily promoted this final meeting. They sent out a separate mailer and posted signs. But what about the many familiar faces who were not present? Why did they stay home on the night this "preferred design alternative" was to be unveiled?
Nearly 3 years have passed since the City declared their intent to sell out this community for the least distasteful among unsavory alternatives. Now, as the City presumably nears final agreement with the developer, a crowd like the one that showed up in August, 2011 is back to say the City blew it.
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