June 16, 11:48 AM click here to comment > 0
The Reader – Pioneer Square Revitalization
From the Office of Mayor Mike McGinn
News, Updates, and Information
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THURSDAY, JUNE 16, 2011
Reporting to the community on Pioneer Square revitalization
Pioneer Square is a wonderful asset, but there’s no doubt it’s had some hard times. So we’ve rolled up our sleeves and worked hard with the community to revitalize the neighborhood. Yesterday Mayor Mike McGinn joined community leaders, including former mayor Charles Royer, to give an update on what we’re doing for Pioneer Square. The mayor announced that Comcast has been selected to provide fiber broadband service through City conduit to businesses on First Avenue. He also announced some changes to paid parking, including a postponement to 2012 of paid parking from 6 to 8pm in Pioneer Square, along with other steps the City has taken to help Pioneer Square be safer and more vibrant.
Read some of our coverage in the Seattle P-I, GeekWire, and TechFlash.
Helping builders create jobs by reducing permitting wait times
We’re seeing a wave of new construction across Seattle, and that’s a signal of an accelerating economic recovery. Our Jobs Plan pledges to foster a business climate and environment where all businesses can thrive. That includes doing what we can to encourage construction. When Mayor McGinn heard that it was taking some builders as much as 9 weeks to get a permit appointment with the Department of Planning and Development (DPD), he directed DPD to act. Today you can call and get a permit appointment within two weeks. That helps get workers off the bench and into the field, working at jobs with good wages that help build Seattle’s future.
Final Environmental Impact Statement for SR 520 posted last Friday
Last Friday the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) posted the Final Environmental Impact Statement for the SR 520 project for the I-5 to Medina phase of the SR 520 bridge project.
Coverage in the media of this release focused on one of the community’s main concerns: where’s the money? There is currently a $2 billion funding gap in this $4.6 billion project. The Seattle side of the project is the unfunded portion – which means that WSDOT’s plan is to build a six-lane bridge replacement that would merge back down to the current four lanes that exist near Foster Island in the Arboretum. This would just move the traffic jam to Seattle, without improving the earthquake-prone Portage Bay viaduct and without mitigation for traffic impacts of a six-lane expansion. Other topics we’re watching: commitment to high capacity transit, how tolling affects the need for more lanes, and the impacts on parklands, habitat, and neighborhoods. We will continue to review the over-11,000 pages of environmental documents and let you know soon what we find.
Upcoming Events (for more see http://seattle.gov/Engage/access.htm):
June 18: SPD East Precinct Picnic, 1:00 PM, East Precinct, 1519 12th Avenue
June 21: Joint Town Hall with Mayor McGinn and Superintendent Enfield, 5:30 p.m., South Shore K-8 School, 4800 South Henderson
June 22: Ask the Mayor on Seattle Channel, 7:00 p.m. (http://seattlechannel.org, or cable channel 21)
June 23: Mayor’s Southwest Town Hall, 5:30 p.m., Hiawatha Community Center, 2700 California Ave SW
What we’re reading:
State still seeks winning strategy against childhood obesity
Aging in Place, Stuck Without Options
Breathing Uneasy: Air Pollution Crisis in South Seattle
Posted by: Nathaniel Merrill