Text of Mayor's Letter on Local Transportation Projects

Gregory J. Nickels

Mayor of Seattle

April 15, 2009

Dear Representatives Dickerson and Carlyle:

The City of Seattle remains a strong partner with the State of Washington, King County, the Port of Seattle and residents of Seattle in the Alaskan Way Viaduct and Seawall Replacement program. As part of this partnership, we are committed to ensuring adequate and efficient access for freight and vehicles, as well as for neighborhood residents along the State Route 99 corridor.

To the extent practical, we will undertake the following activities:

(a) Design and construct, using state funding, all work necessary to ensure that the new Alaskan Way surface street is an efficient route for freight and vehicles, including:

        (i) Operating the four-lane Alaskan Way surface street between Atlantic and Battery Street in a manner that facilitates through traffic and freight movement to and through the surface street corridor along the waterfront, including synchronizing traffic lights and traffic control devices and erecting additional traffic lights and traffic control devices if necessary;

        (ii) Managing and operating Alaskan Way and the State Route 99 south portal area to facilitate access to the port of Seattle and other major destinations south of downtown, including State Route 99 and State Route 519; and

(b) Work with the Washington State Department of Transportation and, prior to removal of the viaduct, develop a plan that provides efficient traffic flow from neighborhoods in northwest Seattle to the north portal of the deep bored tunnel, including:

        (i) Providing reliable and effective access to and from State Route 99 and to and from the Mercer Corridor for residents and businesses in northwest Seattle, including the Port of Seattle cruise ship terminal;

        (ii) Providing for the efficient movement of traffic, with strategies such as traffic light synchronization and addressing on-street parking, along major arterials, for routes such as: North 46th Street, North 39th Street, Nickerson Street, Dexter Avenue North, Mercer Street, and West Mercer Street; and

        (iii) Managing congestion at the north and sound ends of the Aurora Avenue bridge; and

(c) Prior to removal of the viaduct, develop and implement a plan that maximizes safe and efficient traffic movement on Mercer Street, including: improvements from Elliott Avenue to State Route 99, including two-way West Mercer Street, and managing and operating access to State Route 99 and the deep bored tunnel in a safe and efficient manner.

The City of Seattle is committed to working with stakeholders as we did during last year's successful Stakeholder Advisory Committee process. In the next few weeks, we will finalize the formation of three stakeholder working groups; one around the north portal, the central waterfront, and the south portal. The groups will serve as a public forum for interested parties to provide feedback and have their questions answered and concerns considered. WSDOT, KCDOT and SDOT will staff these groups and will use a similar process that was successful with the Stakeholder Advisory Committee. We are dedicated to working with them to address traffic and transportation issues as a result of the SR 99 projects.

I appreciate your strong interest in ensuring that Seattle does a thorough job analyzing these issues and assure you I share that commitment.

Sincerely,

GREG NICKELS

Mayor of Seattle