FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 12/15/2015

Councilmembers Rasmussen and Bagshaw to Host Panel on Lidding I-5 Near Convention Center Expansion

SEATTLE – Councilmembers Tom Rasmussen and Sally Bagshaw will host a lunchtime meeting tomorrow to hear concepts about the possibility of lidding portions of Interstate-5 near the Pike-Pine Corridor.

The Pike-Pine Urban Neighborhood Council (PPUNC) and the Northwest Urbanist will show potential uses of the area above the freeway, funding options and examples of other freeway lids around the country.

Interest in lidding the freeway blocks north of the current Washington State Convention Center has increased due to the Convention Center’s planned expansion onto the Convention Place Station site.

The $1.4 billion Convention Center addition is expected to reinvigorate the neighborhood by bringing activity and tens of thousands of visitors to the area annually. While the Convention Center addition is an independent project from a full lid across Interstate 5, the new facility will bridge a portion of the freeway at Boren Avenue and Pine Street. Members of the Pike-Pine neighborhood want to lid the remaining gaps between Downtown and Capitol Hill.

WHAT:
Panel discussion on Interstate-5 lidding opportunities

WHEN
Wednesday, December 16
12 p.m.

WHERE:
Seattle City Hall
Council Chambers, Second Floor
600 4th Ave., Seattle 98104

WHO:
Seattle City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen
Seattle City Councilmember Sally Bagshaw
Council Transportation Committee Meeting Members
Pike Pine Urban Neighborhood Council
Northwest Urbanist

# # #

Seattle City Council meetings are cablecast live on Seattle Channel 21, HD Channels 321 Comcast, 721 Wave and on the City Council’s website. Copies of legislation, Council meeting calendar, and archives of news releases can be found on the City Council website. Follow the Council on Twitter and on Facebook.

[View in Council Newsroom]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 12/1/2015

Rasmussen Announces Funds to Pursue Seattle AIDS Legacy Memorial Project
Announcement made at World AIDS Day breakfast this morning

SEATTLE – Councilmember Tom Rasmussen today announced the City Council has dedicated $75,000 to initiate a planning process to create a Seattle AIDS Legacy Memorial. Those funds would be directly matched by a community organization, which would take a leadership role in planning and proposing an appropriate memorial.

Nearly 4,000 Seattleites died in the first two decades of the AIDS epidemic, and a history of both the crisis and the community’s response has not been comprehensively collected, recorded or presented.  Councilmember Rasmussen sponsored the memorial proposal after listening to advocates involved in the early days of the epidemic who felt that the history and the stories of the lives that were lost be chronicled.

“The Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI) is deeply honored to participate in planning for a Seattle memorial to preserve the stories of those who lost their lives during the AIDS crisis, and to share the important lessons that we learned,” said Leonard Garfield, Executive Director of MOHAI. “We will work to engage the entire community to help envision the memorial, to share the stories that it will honor, and to help raise funds to meet the city’s generous initial contribution.”

“We need to create a memorial worthy of those who died and of those worked creatively, tirelessly and fearlessly to help those diagnosed with the HIV virus,” said Councilmember Tom Rasmussen, the proposal’s sponsor. “The AIDS crisis personally touched my life, and the memories of those lost deserve to live on.”

The planning process, which includes a requirement that the $75,000 in City funds be matched, will be put to bid in early 2016.  MOHAI, or whichever qualified organization receives the funds, will be expected to:

• Convene and staff an advisory committee of diverse community members familiar with or involved in the response to the AIDS crises;
• Conduct a series of public focus groups to gather input about the character of a legacy/memorial project;
• Engage artists, design and engineering professionals and historians and curators to develop concepts;
• Prepare collateral materials to share options of a legacy/memorial project;
• Produce a final report that outlines scale, location, timeline, financial information, and other components of the project; and
• Complete preliminary research and present legacy/memorial options to the advisory committee which would reach consensus on a recommended legacy/memorial project and course of action.

“Seattle stepped up during the most devastating epidemic of our time, to show the rest of the country how the community can care for each other,” said Michele Hasson. “Seattle’s response to this crisis deserves to be memorialized, and I’m thankful that we’re moving toward a lasting memorial.”

# # #

Seattle City Council meetings are cablecast live on Seattle Channel 21, HD Channels 321 Comcast, 721 Wave and on the City Council’s website. Copies of legislation, Council meeting calendar, and archives of news releases can be found on the City Council website. Follow the Council on Twitter and on Facebook.

[View in Council Newsroom]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 10/9/2015

Councilmembers Rasmussen and Bagshaw’s Statement on Belltown Property Landmark Nomination

SEATTLE – Councilmembers Tom Rasmussen and Sally Bagshaw issued the following statement today on the Seattle Landmark Board’s decision to nominate the Wayne Apartments at 2224 2nd Avenue as an historic landmark:

“We are very pleased with the decision of the Board to designate the Wayne Apartments as an historic landmark.  The building is one of the few remaining structures from the late 19th century, and may be the only building of its kind to survive the monumental effort to regrade Denny Hill. We are glad to see such an important successful step toward retaining the structure as a piece of Seattle’s living history.

“Wednesday night over one hundred community members spent hours at the Landmarks Board meeting, making the case for preservation.  Today, we enthusiastically congratulate them for their work and this historic decision. These are neighbors who truly consider themselves family.  We thank them for the countless hours of research and community organizing, and look forward to continuing to work with the neighborhood to ensure this rare part of Belltown showcases its history of music, art and film, and with this action starts a new chapter.”

[View in Council Newsroom]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 9/15/2015

Council to host Public Hearing on SR 520 West-End Design

SEATTLE – Council’s Transportation Committee will host a Public Hearing Wednesday evening to hear public feedback regarding Seattle’s goals for the proposed design of the west-end of the SR 520 bridge replacement project.  In July 2015, the Washington State Legislature approved funding for remainder of the 520 project.  Council is preparing to adopt a resolution which outlines the City of Seattle’s priorities and principles as the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) moves forward to finish design and begin construction on the West Side of the SR 520 bridge replacement project.

The resolution under consideration concurs with the 2015 Final Design Concept Report, which calls for a box girder style bridge including a bike and pedestrian path over Portage Bay, redesigned highway lids with a new land bridge, and multimodal connectivity improvements. The City is also asking WSDOT to consider an additional bike and pedestrian bridge across the Montlake Cut, transit priority enhancements, intelligent transportation system improvements (ITS), improved pedestrian safety at the Montlake interchange, and neighborhood traffic enhancements.

Each member of the public will have up to 2 minutes to address the committee, and public comment sign-up sheets will be available at 5:15 p.m.

For more information, visit: www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/SR520Bridge/I5toLakeWa/default.htm

WHAT:
Council Public Hearing regarding the west-end design of the SR 520 Bridge

WHERE:
University Christian Church
4731 15th Ave NE, Seattle, 98105

WHEN:
Wednesday, September 16
5:30 p.m.

WHO:
Seattle City Councilmembers
Public

[View in Council Newsroom]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 8/31/2015

Mayor, Councilmember Rasmussen Announce Support of SR 520 West Side Design
Seattle’s Design Preferences Expressed in New Resolution

SEATTLE — Today Mayor Ed Murray and Councilmember Tom Rasmussen introduced a resolution outlining the City of Seattle’s priorities and principles as the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) moves forward to finish design and begin construction on the West Side of the SR 520 bridge replacement project. The resolution incorporates years of feedback and engagement from the local community and stakeholders, and represents a unified policy position from the City on the major design elements of the project.

“The 520 bridge is a critical transportation corridor and economic lifeline for the region. The final design must improve the flow of the roadway and the livability of the communities that surround it,” said Mayor Ed Murray. “This resolution represents an important next step as we work with our state partners to complete the project so that it is seismically safe and works for all modes – cars, transit, bicycles and pedestrians. For the first time, we will have a unified City position on the design of the project.”

“After more than a decade working on SR 520 issues, I am eager for this project to be completed.  The design includes features that create more usable and integrated spaces for the community, provide safe connections for bikes and pedestrians and keep cars and transit moving,” said Transportation Committee Chair Tom Rasmussen. “This resolution affirms the commitment of the Council to work with the Mayor to ensure a successful outcome.”

In July 2015, the Washington State Legislature approved funding for remainder of the 520 project, which has been named the “Rest of the West” by WSDOT. The City’s resolution concurs with the 2015 Final Design Concept Report, which calls for a box girder style bridge including a bike and pedestrian path over Portage Bay, redesigned highway lids with a new land bridge, and multimodal connectivity improvements. The City is also asking WSDOT to consider an additional bike and pedestrian bridge across the Montlake Cut, transit priority enhancements, intelligent transportation system improvements (ITS), improved pedestrian safety at the Montlake interchange, and neighborhood traffic enhancements.

“We are pleased by the progress so far and look forward to continuing to work with the City and WSDOT to ensure the highest quality final design,” said Lionel Job, of the community group Montlake Neigborhood Greenways.

WSDOT and the City previously agreed to the following design framework through the Seattle Community Design Process in 2013:  

• A new Portage Bay Bridge between I-5 and Montlake, designed to better fit surroundings and resist earthquakes.
• Highway lids at Montlake Boulevard and 10th Avenue East/Delmar Drive East to help reconnect neighborhoods and provide transit facilities.
• New HOV lanes from I-5 to Montlake Boulevard that will complete the SR 520 HOV system from I-5 to Redmond.
• The south half of a new west approach bridge built to modern seismic standards for carrying eastbound traffic from Montlake to the new floating bridge.
• Mobility improvements such as bicycle, pedestrian and transit connections, and networks to and from SR 520 to existing and planned city networks, including options for users of all ages and abilities and safer undercrossing.
• An extension to I-5 of a regional bicycle and pedestrian path from Seattle to the Eastside, with connections to local trails and transit stops.

Council will host a Public Hearing to hear community feedback on the resolution. The hearing will be held at University Christian Church located at 4731 15th Ave. NE on Sept. 16 at 5:30 p.m.  Full Council is expected to vote on the resolution in late September.

To read the full resolution, click: www.seattle.gov/council/attachments/SR520Resolution.pdf

For more information, visit: www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/SR520Bridge/I5toLakeWa/default.htm

– 30 –

Office of the Mayor

[View in Council Newsroom]

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