🛣️ Should South Park dump SR 99?

Removing SR 99 From South Park Could Have Huge Benefits

Removing or reducing the section of South Route 99 could have huge benefits for the residents of South Park, according to a new report by Seattle’s Office of Planning and Community Development. The highway disconnects the neighborhood’s elementary school from the public library. Currently, there are four potential scenarios in play to reduce the footprint of the highway. City Cast contributor Ryan Packer laid out the options in a recent piece in The Urbanist.

• Four scenarios: Scenario one would remove SR 99 entirely and repurpose the area for green space, parks, and housing. It would restore 59 acres for environmental purposes. Number two would turn SR 99 into a city street with one travel lane going in both directions, with intersections and crossings. Scenario three is similar to plan two, but would offer two travel lanes in both directions instead of one. Finally, four would keep SR 99 intact but add bridges, trails, and sound walls.
• What about traffic? According to the report, SR 99 “carries traffic volumes similar to a busy city street,” so removing the highway wouldn’t create huge traffic issues.’ Removal would only increase I-5 traffic by 3%, and 8% on SR 509.
• Environmental effect: Highway runoff drains into the Duwamish, which SR 99 runs along. Removing it would be extremely beneficial for the salmon and other life that lives in the river, as runoff from tires and cars is deadly for wildlife.

🎤 Mayor Wilson hires comms vets for team: It’s been a tough month for Mayor Wilson on the PR front, and she’s bringing in two temporary communication hires, Crystal Nicole Fincher and Dawn Schellenberg, to work with her office starting next month through September. Fincher is a political consultant, podcast and radio veteran, and Schellenberg was a spokesman for SDOT. The office has been interviewing for a permanent communication director as well. [PubliCola]

🤯 Waterfront Park’s biggest day ever: If you were at Seattle Waterfront Park on June 19th, you may have noticed you weren’t alone, because you were one of nearly 85,000 people on the day of World Cup Soccer, Juneteenth, and a live broadcast of Men in Blazers Matchday Live. This, frankly, crazy amount of people surpasses all previous attendance records for the public space. Check out today’s podcast for more! [KING5]

🪫 We could pay millions for energy we can’t use: Energy corporation TransAlta is seeking tens of millions in reimbursement to keep a coal-burning power plant safe to comply with an order from the Trump administration to keep it open. This is despite the fact it burned its last coal back in December, and any power produced by the plant would have to be sold out of state due to clean-energy requirements in Washington state. [Washington State Standard]