What the Maple Leaf community lacks in funding for the Sidewalk on 8thproject, it makes up for in support and enthusiasm to complete a link providing safe passage from Olympic View Elementary to the Northgate Library.
Although the project missed its chance for funding in the latest round of the city’s Bridging the Gap levy cycle, project organizers Diane Chapel and Andrea Bowers aren’t giving up yet.
At last month’s annual Maple Leaf Community meeting on crime and safety, Chapel told the crowd she would continue working on the project with the hopes it’ll have a better chance in the third and final phase of the $365 million levy.
With nearly three years to prepare, Chapel hopes to address issues that she believes may have prevented the project from taking the next step toward getting the city’s approval. From the Sidewalk on 8th Web site:
I think there are two significant reasons why the sidewalk on 8th wasn’t given higher priority:
1. The cost isn’t known but estimates ranged from $300K to $5M. Since it hasn’t been designed, the perceived potential for a high-end cost put people off, especially since the amount for the entire city to spend this funding cycle is $4.5M.
2. SDOT gave its own ranking of importance to the projects submitted three years ago (which is the same list they are working from now), and the sidewalk on 8th had a lower ranking than other projects in the North District.
In addition, Chapel is anticipating that the expected completion of the Northgate light rail station in 2020 will help increase the importance of the project. And she’s also banking on community support. So far, more than 400 community residents have signed on to support the project, and it’s also gotten endorsements from the Olympic View Elementary School PTA, Ace Hardware, Reckless Video and Cloud City Coffee.
However, it could end up being the same battle all over again, since the three projects submitted by the North District Council for the current funding cycle still have to go up against proposals from around the city for a mere $4.5 million.
North Seattle’s proposals, ranked in order, are: Meadowbrook’s Northeast 110th St between 35th Avenue Northeast and 38th Avenue Northeast; Cedar Park’s Northeast 125th Street between 35th Avenue and Sand Point Way; and in Lake City Way, 33rd Avenue Northeast between Northeast 130th and Northeast 125th streets.
For the record, Chapel says she doesn’t disagree with the ranking that the North District Council made, but do you think adding sidewalk on Eighth Avenue Northeast should have been given higher priority? What do you think will help Maple Leaf bridge its sidewalk gaps?
