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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Committees - Planning and Economic Development Committee - 02/06/1964 SPECIAL MEETING' � February 6,, 1964. 9000 A.M. The meeting was called to order by Mayor Frank Aliment of Renton who advised that the meeting was being held for the purpose of further discussing with the State Highway Department the proposed freeway plans as they will effect the traffic patterns in the greater Renton area. Mayor Aliment welcomed all visitors and requested each person to introduce himself. Among those present were Paul J. McKay,, Washington Highway Department; C.G. Prahl - Director of Highways ; E. Cowell., Bob Mikal.son, George Zahn and James Blair representing the State Highway Commission; Charles Baker, C. McGar.rigl.e, B . Sammis and Richard Bowen representing the Valley Regional Planning Commission; King County Commissioners John O 'Brien and Ed Munro; John Hammon, Budget Director King County; Ken Roskie from the King County Sheriff' s Department; E.E.Miller, Washington Good Roads Association; E� Greathouse, Puget Properties; R. Robinson and Kay Johnson representing the Renton Chamber of Commerce; James Denzer, Jay Holmes and Louis Peretti , Renton Planning Commission, ; LT. Julien, Renton Cit.izen' s Advisory Council.; John So:rweide, Teamster' s Local #91.0; Mayor John Stra`i.der; Charles Eastwood and Frar{k Zepp Tukwila; Joseph Gottstein, Maurice Alhadef.f, Steve O "Donnel., M. LoaBoyne, Joe Wittman and victor Alhadeff, Washington Jockey Club; D. Brown and C. Hogan.,, Washington Hoarse Breeders Association; Renton Council members; C. Deiau:ren.ti , Avery Garrett, Hugh Bruce, Glen Gianini and Walt Reid; City Engineer Jack Wilson, Asst. City Engineer Del, Bennett, Street Comm'_ssion.er ice Lynch, Planning Director Dave Jensen all from the City of Renton and residents of the area, Tom Teasdale; Walt Will, O . Hendricksor , F. Porter, R, White, J. Austin and Helen Nelsons Hans Bert:agni, Housin; Authority, Mayor Frank Aliment then turned the meeting over to Mr. E.A. Cowelld Chairman of the State Highway Commission, who in turn introduced Mr. C .G. Prahl, Director of Highways. Director Prahl. addressed the a:rou.p and attention was directed to the fact, that contrary to public opinion, the Highway Commission cannot adjust the budget as they see fit They must live by the mandate of the Legislature. It is not possible for the Commission to authorize or recommend any projects if they are not it the original. plans, Interstate highways are 90% federal supported and funds are not transferable for other purposes. Federal money is allocated over a long term program and it would be difficult to add more projects to the system. With respect to improvements in areas such as here, again the area involved is outside of the interstate system. if these funds were used for additional im- provements, th.en other projects, with prior approval., would have to be reduced. Mr. Prahl then turned the meeting over to Mr . Paul McKay. Mr. McKay ex- pressed his appreciation for the cooperation received from the people in this area , He then presented a List of the freeway projects for this area which he felt. would be of interest to those present. 1. Interstate FA"d 405 starts at the Tukwila interchange;, easterly through Renton., along the east side of the lake, through Bellevue and joins the Seattle- Everett freeway in the vicinity of Alderwood Manor . All construction wLth the exception of the bridge over the railroad tracks is underway and, contingent on -2- weather conditions, can be completed in late 1965 . 2. Longacres to Cedar River. This will start at the easterly end of the Longacres Bridge and tie into the new construction at the Cedar River Bridge-- completion date set for early 1965 . 3 � .May Creek to F'act.oria. Plans are now being placed in formal form so contracts can be advertised about July of this year,, There are some right-of- ways yet to be acquired but it is hoped paving can be completed in 1965 . This does not include the Factoria interchange. 4. North Renton .Interchange. Primary plans for the interchange have been formulated and there are appropriations in the present program to complete the designed plans for the work. It remains for the City to acquire the financing for its portion of the work. There will be some improvements of Lake Washingtor Blvd. by the City in connection with the :inter6nanges 5 . Need for vehicular and pedestrian separation in the Talbot area. A point, to consider is a location to the south at about S. 160th for an overpass assuming that .it can be justified by the traffic needs and also the necessary connections on both sides can be worked out , It is an obligation of the City to make the necessary connections. 6., Access to the Shopping Center along Sunset Highway or the Renton- Issaquah Highway. There is awareness of the traffic congestion through the business area and some widening and channellj�at.iorx will be performed in that area. 7 , Re.l.o-ation and improvement of Highway 5C, Greater improvements of 5C is to serve the rapLdl.y expanding housing area on top of the hill. To go further south is not important, but it is important to the housing area. Ever attempt will be made to work out a location that will p.rovide 'sufficient capac Improvements of 5C or Benson Highway in its present condition seems impractice due to terrain. In the present biennium there is an appropriation to proceed with a survey to see where the improvements should be made"'ttt to location and capa-city. 8. More adequate traffic control---intersection of Grady Way and 5C. This could be a joint project to be considered and should be given considerek tWught., 9. Necessity of widening 2nd Ave. Here again .is a project that should given consideration in future planning can budgeting and certainly will come into consideration when the department goes into priority programing. It is hoped that the results of Renton° s study and the Regional Transportation stu will throw some light on just what improvements should be made on the east w route through Renton, -3- 10. Resurfacing work in the present program. There will, be some resurfacing from Renton and Rair.ie:r Avenues east on 2nd avenue, On Bronson Way from the Cedar River Bridge east to the railroad tracks . This resurfacing is schlpduled for this summer,. Also there will be some resurfacing on Sunset Highway from Renton tc :Issaquah„ and some of the :rough spots will be removed. Mr. McKay further stated in regard to any access road in the Longacres area, the Bureau of. Public Roads sets very strict regulations designating access roads between interchanges„ The proposal, to construct off-ramps is contrary to inter- state standards. Additional, access should come off 2M a little further to the south of Longacres„ This type of egress will provide another means to Longacres and the industrial, developments in that vicinity. It might be further stated that it does provide the same amount of access that is available at the present time. It would be impossible to put into operation a plan that would allow all traffic to stream out at the same time. Mr., McKay thanked Mayor Aliment and turned the meeting back to Mr. Cowell . Mr. Cowell stated that the Commission had taken another look at the proposal since the last meeting and since it is the joint property of Renton and Tukwila it e:i.iminates the States participating. He then opened the meeting for present- ations from visitors present. Mr, Joseph Got.tste,.n of the Washington Jockey Club, expressing dismay at the hack of concern for the subject traffic problems, called to mind the million dollar revenue derived by the State„ cautioning that operations in Washington are not. feasible :if consideration and cooperation is not rendered. Mr, joe Wittman of the Washington Horse Breeders Association noted that his Association has :looked forward to the Freeway with the idea in mind that it would bring more people from other parts of the State to Longacres. The increase in traffic will be immediate and if the present: access plan is inadequate it will be chaos by the time the Freeway is completed. Mr . Charles Baker representing the Valley Regional. Planning. Commission com- mented that this is an area where farm lands have been converted into industrial sites. There is a wide diversification of industry. Parke, Davis & Co. has re- cently made an announcement relative to their plans for location here, as well as Boeing° s purchase of 320 acres south of Tukwila in the northern part of Kent. There are a number of industries moving here who were not considering locating in this area during the time the plans for the freeway were formulated. This is the most logical developmental. area for industry. The only access is limited to two roads, one off-the Dunlap Canyon or Monster Road, the other to the west of the racetrack west of Highway 2M. Tukwila Downs is a large Industrial Park development. All highways should be designed to serve the maximum number of people whether they are daily com- muters or passing through, Mr. Charles Delaurenti, President Renton City C019cil questioned Mr. Cowell as to whether the States proposed plan had been presented at a public hearing. Mr. Cowell stated that a public hearing had been held, the plan reviewed and approved as is. Mr . Ken Roskie from the King County Sheriff' s Office noted their department handles the bulk of traffic coming from north Seattle. - At the present time it takes 4 law enforcement groups to handle all the traffie that comes into the Renton area from east and north of the race track. Mr. ` Roskie stated he would like the opportunity to meet with the traffic engineers to have them explain why it would be better to have the access south of. Longaeres. Mr. Ed Munro, King County Commissioner, stated he would like to subscribe to what Mr . Baker said. The growth here is going to be-.phenomenal and it is imminent. The Highway Commission must be careful at this._stage to be certain they do not create more problems than they are solving. Mayor A;liment then spoke, stating the Hanson Dam completion has opened this property to industry that was not. foreseen 12 years ago wlren the Freeway plans were first drawn up. Without the race track operating now the traffic still backs up to downtown Renton. During racing season this becomes more intensified. It now takes 20 law enforcement officers a day,: after rthe completion of the Free- way it will take at least 10 more. The proposedoff-on ramp. or overpass is not simply for Longacres, it is for all the industry in that area. Further meetings with the Highway members seems indicated if any solution' ta this traffic problem is to be found. Mr. Cowell. asked Mayor Aliment if these factors had '-been presented to Mr. Prahl and the traffic engineers. Mayor Aliment replied that this problem has been brought out at every meeting that has been held. The- present freeway plans will cut 3 of the access roads in half and provide for no relief of the problem. Mr. Maurice Alhadeff spoke of the problems that have continually aggravated the ingress and egress in the race track area. The objections voiced by the Washington Jockey Club are not new. These problems have been brought to the attention of the Commission many times and any future meetings would be futile. Mr. Cowell again reiterated that the State Highway Department cannot go beyond the limits of the highway system. Mr. John O'Brien, King County Commissioner, lent his support to Mayor Aliment and officials of the area. He stated he finds it hard to believe that consideration cannot be given for unique problems. It is -.not possible to dump 2, 000 to 2, 500 cars into an area in 1'h hours without creating problems and this should be given consideration. Longacres should be looked an as the forerunner of industrial growth in the valley. This growth will bring in more tax money, money we can ill-afford to lose. Mr. O'Brien stated he would be willing to meet at any time with the City of Renton and the Highway Commission for the pur- pose of reaching an equitable solution to provide ingress and egress for the industrial area .in the valley. -5- Director Prahl again addressed the group, informing them the Department has not closed their eyes to the traffic problem in this area. However, the Commission can go only so far in spending state money. It is the intention of the Highway Commission to work with city officials- to formulate some alter- native that will solve the problem. He suggested that future meetings be with the people who know the problems and the area. Mr. Baker called attention to the fact that the traffic problem at Long- acres has been aggravated by the growth of the area as a whole. Further obstacles are being placed in the path of any additional industries that may wish to center here. The status here is unique and will not be dupliza-ted in any other part of the State. Some solution to alleviate the situation must be provided. Mr. Cowell stated he agreed with Mr. O 'Brien for the necessity of a future meeting to work out this problem. Mr, Avery Garrett, Renton Councilman and State R-eMes.entative of the 47th District, commented he felt the Director of Highways would do everything possible i to keep the race track from closing. He also suggested a meeting to '4ork out these problems. Mr. James Blair of the Highway Commission remarked that- the Commission will do everything it can, but it can only do so much. As there was no further comment, Mayor Aliment thanked those present for attending and the meeting was adjourned.