City Council backs 6-lane 520 bridge

Part manifesto, part wish list

By DEBERA CARLTON HARRELL
P-I REPORTER

The Seattle City Council, saying it had spent more time mulling the Evergreen Point Bridge, than any issue other than the Alaskan Way Viaduct, unanimously passed a resolution Monday that lays out the city's priorities for a six-lane bridge replacement.

The 12-page resolution, part manifesto and part wish list, reflects Seattle residents' general acceptance that the aging span linking Seattle and the Eastside needs to be replaced.

But the measure also seized on strong public concerns about a new bridge's potential negative effects on neighborhoods, including noise and traffic congestion, environmental problems such as water and air pollution and harm to the Washington Park Arboretum.

The council also reflected residents' preferences for bike-path connections, and for improved mobility by discouraging single-occupancy vehicles, encouraging HOV lane use and creating better transit connections.

Critics of the measure were disappointed. They had urged council members to take more time and more seriously consider the environmental benefits of other options -- four lanes, an underwater tunnel, or the Union Bay Alternative. Opponents said the resolution was a thinly veiled vote for the still controversial six-lane, $4.4 billion Pacific Street Interchange.

The resolution incorporated few of the changes suggested by the No Expansion of SR-520 Citizens Coalition, which seeks greater protections for the Arboretum and design options not included in a Draft Environmental Impact Statement released in October by the state Transportation Department. The coalition also urged a "credible and sound financial plan" for a bridge replacement no one currently knows how to fund.

"Don't take a vote; we haven't been taken seriously enough ... you need to strengthen this," urged Chris Leman, chairman of the coalition, which includes the League of Women Voters, Seattle Audubon, the Seattle Community Council Federation, NoExpansionofSR520.org, Allied Arts, Friends of Olmsted Parks, Parks and Open Space Advocates, University of Washington boosters and neighborhood groups.

City Councilman Richard Conlin, chairman of the council's state Route 520 committee, acknowledged that he personally favors the Pacific Street Interchange. But citing the bridge's importance as a regional transportation corridor and its vulnerability to earthquakes and severe storms, Conlin said it was time to vote, move ahead and reduce effects through "mitigation strategies."

State lawmakers want a mediator to help the city and other parties reach consensus on a final state highway design, aiming to avoid the kind of heated civic battles that ensued over the Alaskan Way Viaduct.

Stating, "the SR 520 Project can reduce ... impacts if it is designed appropriately," the resolution calls for:

Ensuring that bus service on Route 520 "directly connects to and a bus stop is located in close proximity to" the planned light rail station at Husky Stadium.

Ensuring that the bridge replacement "does not adversely impact views of the surrounding natural environment."

Minimizing and/or mitigating impacts on the Arboretum and the UW.

Reducing general-purpose lane and shoulder widths and reducing the number of bridge supporting columns.

Minimizing the number of lanes on the Portage Bay Viaduct, stating that "a nine-lane design is unacceptable," and reducing congestion at the Montlake Bridge.

Council members said they had taken pains to include broad public comment into the resolution.

"We have spent more hours on 520 than any issue involving the city except the Alaskan Way Viaduct," Conlin said.

P-I reporter Debera Carlton Harrell can be reached at 206-448-8326 or deberaharrell@seattlepi.com.

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