Transportation infrastructure statements from Shoreline candidates Richey and Salomon
Tuesday, October 20, 2015
By Evan Smith
Shoreline City Council candidates Lorn Richey and Jesse Salomon recently sent statements about how Shoreline could improve its transportation infrastructure including streets and sidewalks.
Incumbent Salomon and challenger Richey will meet on the November 3 general-election ballot.
Here are their statements in the order their names appear on the November ballot and in the voters’ pamphlet:
Shoreline City Council, Position No. 6
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| Jesse Salomon |
Traffic infrastructure is a huge need and also very expensive. We must think strategically to stretch our funds to create the greatest impact. During my time on the Council, we’ve implemented several innovative, cost-effective strategies to improve Shoreline’s traffic infrastructure.
To improve roads, the Council adopted a transportation impact fee that requires developers to pay for the traffic they create. Impact fees will fund traffic mitigation projects, including the rush hour mess at 175th and Meridian. We’re also fighting ill-conceived developments like Point Wells to limit future traffic. Federal funds are available to support sidewalks. These grants are competitive; grantors want to see cities commit some money to projects before committing federal funds. The Council recently created a matching fund specifically for sidewalks. This strategy is paying off handily! During my term, we won grants to build sidewalks around several Shoreline schools, and other areas. The road and sidewalks along 145th street have not been upgraded to modern standards. Currently, we don't have jurisdiction over 145th, but we are discussing acquiring it from Seattle and King County. The future light rail station at 145th and I-5 will give people easy access to Seattle and Everett but people will need to get there. We are considering transportation upgrades, including frequent bus routes to shuttle people to light-rail stations.
Improvements like these require a city council made up of creative, independent thinkers committed to working collaboratively to find solutions. I ask your continued support this election to keep Shoreline moving forward.
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| Lorn Richey |
Doctors follow the principle of DO NO HARM. This should be the basis for developing transportation infrastructure. Our city needs to focus on compact areas and develop complete systems. Once these areas are complete, connections through a well-planned traffic grid can connect these project areas. Funding for improvements through impact fees and grants need to consider connectivity not just fixing issues in one location.
Bus service should be increased going East and West. Sidewalks to schools and senior housing should be prioritized in long term planning. Public transit plans should consider where residents live, as opposed to where Council wants them to live. Our current approach produces sidewalks to nowhere because improvements are made only to the frontage of new buildings and houses. This is why a new house in the middle of the block has sidewalks but the rest of the street has none.
The plans in place for the areas slated for development need to be compact enough that all new construction shares in both the benefits and the costs. An immediate benefit to any new structure needs to be visible and physically obvious to an entire contributing project. Constructing projects that spread more than a quarter mile in size from major transit centers will continue to frustrate the long term goal of good infrastructure.
Finally, eminent domain should only be used as a last resort if at all. Victims of, Council planned, progress should be compensated above market value and treated with respect for their sacrifice.
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13 comments:
So Jesse's statement above is bogus. " We’re also fighting ill-conceived developments like Point Wells to limit future traffic".
The facts are that he did little to nothing about this until very recently, thanks to the relentless work of RBCA and other advocates from RB.
The FACT is that the Council has finally made some moves in the right direction, but Jesse did very little. The Council has been begging the developer and Snohomish County for years to play nice. And that is not working. It is only because Save Richmond Beach and RBCA has been relentless in fighting for some reasonable measures to protect this unique community.
As far as other transportation infrastructure, Jesse as merely voted to promote massive developments like the scandalous Potala fiasco and the 185th Rezone. There has been no effort to provide the budget funding which is REQUIRED by the GMA. They have merely said they will "plan to plan!"
Not good enough Jesse!
Shoreline is changing. Folks like me in their thirties who have moved here recently from Seattle yearn for more walkable/vibrant neighborhood. And I have many friends here who feel the same way. This means more residential/multi-family properties and more businesses. We do not want council members like Lorn whose sole platform is to oppose progress, ala Tea Party style.
I may not agree with Jesse completely but his efforts in the development of Trader Joe's, Farmers market, Sidewalks and Light Rail among others makes me comfortable he is thinking of right priorities. Lorn, not so sure.
Dave Landers
Parkwood
Dave, speak for yourself. Jesse is fine with progress, as long as it happens at the expense of other's homes and neighborhoods.
Jesse had nothing to do with Trader Joe's.
Lorn Richey is an active member and father in the community, and a Democrat! Lorn is for smart, planned growth that works with and for existing residents.
Sally Edwards
Richmond Beach
I'm in my thirties, I moved here so my kids could grow up in a house with a yard, and attend excellent schools. I know every single one of my 50+ neighbors, and we all look out for each other's kids and the elderly. I can walk to existing neighborhood businesses.
I don't need bike lanes, a Chipotle, or Whole Foods to make my neighborhood "vibrant". I'm sorry your not satisfied with the excellent community we have now. Congrats on moving here from Seattle, feel free to move back if you Shoreline doesn't meet your standards.
Ryan Basile, Ridgecrest
Jesse, is that you? I mean "Dave Landers"... Or are you just troll from the STB blog?
You people are crafty, I'll give you that.
Yes, "Dave", I too am in my thirties, and sometimes yearn for the "walkable", "vibrant" neighborhood of my Capitol Hill past, but I'm afraid that neighborhood has gotten so "walkable" and "vibrant" that it's gotten, quite frankly, a little too "rapey" and "murderous".
Lorn Richey is not a tea partier and certainly not anti-progress. I'm aware that Jesse Salomon has been bellyaching door to door, trashing his opponent and making it all about how much of a victim he his to skirt around the issues and avoid talking truthfully about the issues at all costs. And what better way to do so, than to redirect all this fallout on someone who would have done the right thing in first place?
Anonymous - you are so incredibly uninformed. Jesse had little or nothing to do with The Saturday market. The only role he and the council have played in the transition to Trader Joe's is to delay them. You moved here because we have a walking neighborhood. Well here's a shocker - we always have been. And did you notice he's taking credit for sidewalks around 'some' schools. Oddly enough, at this time when citizens are begging to be heard, he thinks sidewalks are the highest priority. Shall we have our 200 homeless teens sleep on them? I imagine they would appreciate the opportunity to attend school even without sidewalks. My kids have attended,4 different schools and played soccer, baseball. football, basketball and participated in Scouts and Campfire at dozens of other schools. They all had sidewalks.
Jesse's claims that he "helped" start the Shoreline Farmers Market, Veteran's Park and Trader Joes, are all questionable. Taking credit for things the City has done or that dedicated volunteers did is not cool, not cool. Did he also invent "sliced bread?" The one thing he can take credit for is voting for the worst decision ever made by the Council, that is to displace thousands of residents who already live in affordable single-family neighborhoods.
Lorn Richey has enormous support from people of both parties. He is endorsed by the 32nd District and King County Democrats because he is standing up for neighborhoods like North City, Ridgecrest and Richmond Beach. He has a long record of public service and standing up for people who need help.
I did not know that my one comment will bring so many folks out of the woods. Anyway:
Janet: Displacing residents to redevelop neighborhoods is also called progress. Shoreline is the only suburb in King county where the percentage of older population has increased. That is not a bad thing but the impact is that the tax base is shrinking. How do you think we are going to develop and grow as a neighborhood if everyone is against redevelopment that will bring in more residents?
Sherry: I am not in Shoreline for long enough to know the history of sidewalks but would love to be educated. Yes, there are other issues important to our neighborhood such as schools, roads, transport. But, Lorn is not talking about them, he sent a stupid flier to our house to vote for him so he will stop rezoning for redevelopment. And there is nothing else on the flier; no other issues. How stupid is that?
Anomymous: You talk nothing about issues. Just an accusatory blah. Go back in your cave.
Ryan: Yes, we don't want WholeFoods, but some nice restaurants, coffee shops and even a good yoga studio/neighborhood gym is not too much to ask for, no? I like my neighbors too. We will see how long we live here. We are used to more city living and the main reason we came to Shoreline was because this is our first house and we didn't want to spend a lot. And the good schools. We didn't really know the reason for the lower cost was there wasn't much to do here. We will reevaluate in future.
Sally: I was thinking how being a democrat is even relevant to the conversation. Then I just went to Lorn and Jesse's website and found that Lorn hardly has any democratic endorsements. While Jesse has endorsements from well-known democratic organizations of the region. Is Lorn a Repub trying to run as a Dem?
Finally, just wanted to say to all of you that density is great for the environment. I am involved in Greenpeace and we rather build a building in Seattle or Shoreline than cut down forests in the middle of Snoqualmie. My guess is most of you are pissed because your houses fall in the rezone. But, don't hate development just because its in your neighborhood, no? Its like throwing out the baby with the water.
Dave Landers
@ Dave Landers... since when was any kind of development good for the environment?
What’s not being taken into consideration here is the real environmental impacts. What’s the carbon cost of cutting down one of these tall evergreen trees? What about the displaced wildlife? There are known problems with drainage in these areas… what happens with the trees that help support the drainage system are gone? What happens to the noise levels in neighborhoods near the I-5 after trees that used to help muffle the sound are removed and replaced with tall buildings that will actually amplify noise? What happens to our air quality when the trees are slashed and uprooted? What’s the environmental impact of disposing of torn down houses? What the impact of new building materials, transport of, and construction? The list of approved trees in the City right-of-way was recently updated. Guess what’s no longer on the list? Evergreen and conifer trees. So basically, if you have a beautiful tall tree in front of your house and the City decides to re-do the sidewalk, that tree most likely will not be preserved. If the City needs to widen any road to accommodate this barrage of traffic that the station and high-density housing is going to bring, say goodbye to any tree that’s not on the approved right-of-way list and maybe some that are on the list. Tree City USA, indeed! If you really are a friend to the environment as you claim to be, wouldn't you want to protect our watersheds, salmon bearing streams and minimize the impacts to them. Or are you okay with just turning them into sewers to protect the trees in Snoqualmie, which is in a federally protected national forest, with little to no threat of being developed. If you believe the tripe that density prevents urban sprawl. I've got a bridge to sell. Money talks, and density or no density in Shoreline, sprawl and deforestation will happen if the price is right.
And by the way, you may want to take another gander at Lorn Richey's flyer and do some comprehensive reading, because I clearly see plenty of issues mentioned as to how the the rezones are going to impact our City... schools, infrastructure, utilities, public safety, etc. If all you gathered from that flyer was it being "stupid" than I question your critical thinking skills, and frankly, maybe Greenpeace is better off without you.
@ Dave Landers: Lorn Richey has the endorsement of the two main Democrat groups for this area: King County Democrats, and the 32nd District Democrats. He also has the endorsements of several other democrats, see http://democracy.com/lornricheyforshoreline/endorsements.aspx.
Lorn is also a well-known and active volunteer and father in the community, unions, and founding member of the Seattle University’s Sustainability Committee.
So, you wanted to buy a house, which you did in Shoreline? How come you didn't buy an apartment or condo? That's right, because families want houses and good neighborhoods, not yoga studios.
Arthur O'Donnell
Wow! something exciting in local politics! I live "just" outside the rezone area - and rent a house, so I don't have as much skin in this game as many of you do. But I do have questions:
1. If you are opposed to the "radical rezone" what would you like to see in its' stead? There is going to be light rail, and a station at 185th. What do you envision there?
2. People have babies, and population will increase. Seattle is booming and more people will come to the area, including Shoreline. Would you like the lots all short-platted and have two large houses on either side of the little old one, as is happening in my Ridgecrest neighborhood? Or tear down the old house and put in 6 large houses with no big trees?
3. Might the city specify that new apartments and developments be "green"? Cisterns to trap and reuse water, solar panels, parking within the building to reduce the cars parking all over the neighborhood?
4. How do we get the nice neighborhoods west of the freeway to share the burden of development that is occurring east of the freeway and the few blocks either direction of Aurora?
just wonderin'
Anonymous: I don't think sustainability and density are exclusive; in fact they are complimentary. There is no reason to not be able to protect our water sheds and salmon runs while also building multifamily housing. We are in the middle of a large urban area, not in an isolated rural area. Our population is going to increase whether you like it or not. The only questions is whether we push the urban boundary further into the forest area to increase our demand of land and development. Yes, the issues you bring up are important and I don't see any reason why we cannot address them while also increasing the number of people living in our neighborhood.This is a prime real estate area near the light rail station and we can make developers pay for preserving the surrounding environment. But for that, the conversation needs to change from opposing density to utilizing the density to achieve our goals of preserving the environment.
And regarding Lorn's flier, you just repeated what I had said: all it says is rezone this, density that. Nothing about any other issues like affordability, vitality, economy, schools, environment. There are issues that people care about, not the rezone. I still think its a stupid flier.
Arthur: I just mentioned previously that we chose Shoreline because it was cheaper than Seattle and this is our first house. We had rented in Seattle for more than a decade and when we decided to buy figured that it didn't make financial sense to buy a condo with HOA and stuff. So, we decided to move here. We might move back to the city in future though. It would surprise you how many families want a yoga studio. Most suburbs (Edmonds, Bellevue, Bothell, Kirkland) known for families and schools have a lot of great studios. In fact, if Shoreline becomes more hip, your house price will go up; not sure why its so hard to understand.
Dave Landers
I invested Shoreline as a place to raise my family and be part of as community, I don't really care if my home price goes up if the quality if life goes down and I have to move because ex-Seattlites decide we need a yoga studio with 100 apartments above it.
Arthur
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