Nick Licata Thinks You're Interested in Sidewalks

Past jefe of the Seattle City Council Nick Licata just wrote us a note about sidewalks and the Mercer Mess. "I thought your blog readers would be interested in knowing about this coming Monday's Forum on Providing Sidewalks and Scaling Down The Mercer Project," says Nick, all helpful-like. Oh, butter wouldn't melt in his mouth!

At issue is what Seattle taxpayers would rather do with $200 million. Mayor Nickels and SLU developer Vulcan would like to use those funds on a Mercer makeover that critics (i.e., Licata, for one) claim wouldn't do much to relieve congestion, so much as spruce things up in a we-gotta-get-these-goddamn-condos-off-our-hands kind of way. Mercer would become a two-lane "boulevard," and its sidewalks would get wider.

Licata claims that an earlier plan by Mayor Paul Schell, which costs about $40 million, is just the ticket. Then he'd use an extra $43 million in bonds that Council has already approved for the Mercer Project for building new sidewalks ($20 million), funding Bicycle Master Plan and Pedestrian Master Plan recommendations ($10 million each), and dealing with freight mobility ($3 million). Graybeard politico Ted van Dyk is on Licata's fiscal-conservative side.

The FoPSaSDTMP takes place October 6, at a 6 p.m. at City Hall, 600 Fourth Avenue, in the Bertha Knight Landes Room. There'll be a lone tumbleweed, some Ennio Morricone music, and then at one end you'll have Nick Licata and at the other SDOT and maybe some Nickels/Vulcan hired hands with a mean squint in their eyes. There will also be refreshments. Hope you can make it!

Seattlest James dropped this charmer into the Seattlest Flickr photo pool. Now that's leading by example!

Contact the author of this article or email tips@seattlest.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By MvB in News on October 1, 2008 4:00 PM

Comments [rss]

ruffhauser

The "Seattle Process" is the screwiest thing I've ever seen.

How many times do you have to vote thumbs up/thumbs down on something to make it happen?

cbendixe

Hmm, I was told otherwise. I'll have to fire my staff of factcheckers....OK, it was me. Sorry.

MvB

Licata says, contrary to cbendixe, Bridging the Gap did not specify the Mercer Project:
A few of the arterial improvements were mega-projects, such as the Spokane Street Viaduct interchange, the Lander Street Overpass and the Mercer Corridor Project. These three projects were not included in the property tax levy and thus were never directly voted on by the public. Instead the City Council directed two new taxes, the commercial parking tax and the employee tax, to fund them. These taxes remain in force until the Council removes them, unlike the property levy which ends in 2015.

cbendixe

It should also be noted that the re-do of Mercer as a two-way urban boulevard has been passed by the voters of the City already (remember Bridging the Gap?). The City Council has also voted by a strong majority to devote the $43 million to the Mercer project. Nothing like keeping up the tradition of true Seattle leadership, Councilman. Maybe after this "forum" we should have at least 4 more town meetings, open houses, and at least one more vote on it....