February / March 2005

Content:

Historic Opportunity to Reduce Noise from I-5 Ship Canal Bridge

Gypsy Moth Spraying in Eastlake

Tsunami and Earthquake Preparedness

Crime Prevention and Block Watches

Volunteers needed for Community-Buidling

Self-Defense Workshop in Eastlake

UW Faculty Senate Chair’s State-ment on Proposed Biodefense Lab

Traffic, Parking, Buses, and a Possible Streetcar

PUBLIC EVENTS

Thu. Feb. 10 - Fairview Green Street (Fuhrman to Hamlin Street) - committee meets 7 p.m. at 2728 Fairview #303. Info: 568-5451

Mon., Feb. 14 - Fairview Green Street (Newton to Roanoke streets) - committee meets 6 p.m. at 2510 Fairview Ave. E. (enter from back upper level). Info: 325-5933

Tue., Feb. 15 - Public meeting on traffic, parking, and transit, 7-9 p.m., TOPS-Seward School, 2500 Franklin Avenue E.

Sat., Feb., 19 - Good Turn Park work party 1-3 p.m, Martin street end at 3149 Fairview Avenue East.

Sat., Feb. 26 - Fairview Park work party, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. (between Eastlake Ave. and Fairview Ave. at Shelby St.). Info: 325-5463

Wed. March 9 - Public meeting on crime prevention, 7 p.m. at TOPS-Seward School.

Thu., March 10 - Fairview Green Street (Fuhrman to Hamlin Street)—committee meets 7 p.m. at 2728 Fairview #303. (check eastlake.oo.net web site to confirm this meeting or call 568-5451)

Mon., March 14 - Fairview Green Street (Newton to Roanoke streets)—committee meets 6 p.m. at 2510 Fairview Ave. E., enter from back upper level (check eastlake.oo.net web site to confirm this meeting or call 325-5933)

Sat., March 19 - Good Turn Park work party 1-3 p.m, Martin street end at 3149 Fairview Ave. E.

Sat. March 26 - Fairview Park work party, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. (between Eastlake & Fairview Aves. at Shelby)

Wed., April 20 - Public meeting on tsunami and earthquake preparedness, 7 p.m. at TOPS-Seward School

Historic Opportunity to Reduce Noise from
I-5 Ship Canal Bridge

[Editor’s note: Considering the baleful impacts of I-5 and SR520 on the neighborhood, it was remarkable to hear WSDOT applauded enthusiastically at a Nov. 30 neighborhood meeting of 87 residents and property owners. The reason? Long-awaited good news about retrofitting the I-5 Ship Canal Bridge to reduce noise. We invited WSDOT’s Jon Higgins to submit the following article, and follow it with a request for your help written for the Eastlake News by Wes Larson, a resident and property owner near the bridge who has helped lead community efforts to do something about the noise.]
Article by WSDOT In 2004, the Washington State Department of Transportation conducted a noise study of the I-5 Ship Canal Bridge that determined how to best reduce traffic noise from the bridge in the surrounding neighborhoods of Eastlake, Roanoke Park/Portage Bay and Wallingford. The study found that sound walls on the upper bridge deck and sound-absorbing panels above the express lanes could reduce traffic noise by more than half.
The study looked also at newly available lightweight and absorptive materials that the panels and walls could be built of, since standard concrete noise barriers could be too heavy for the bridge, bringing about obvious safety concerns. The future use of these lighter weight materials looks good, but they still need final approval by state bridge engineers.
Potential benefits from this project are obvious – starting with the project’s ultimate purpose – substantial noise reduction around the I-5 Ship Canal Bridge. Says Mia Waters of WSDOT’s Air, Noise and Energy program, “Hanging panels over the express lane deck and walls on the upper deck make for a highly effective sound-absorbing system, reducing freeway noise 13-19 decibels for some areas.” For perspective, a 10-decibel reduction sounds half as loud to the human ear. The noise walls would improve outdoor and pedestrian activities and possibly offer neighborhood-scale economic opportunities.
No doubt, the neighborhoods of Eastlake, Roanoke Park and Wallingford are excited, as is WSDOT, about the initial study’s findings, but caution is advised due mainly to future funding implications. The WSDOT project team’s next steps will be to further evaluate the project’s technical, environmental, and cost implications and then find funding. Building noise walls and panels on bridges is expensive – projected costs are now being worked on. The neighborhoods and their representatives will continue to be involved as more is learned. For the additional and more recent information, see the project Web site, www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/I5_ShipCanalBridge.

Wes Larson’s request for action
If you have any questions, or would like to participate in the effort to get this project done, please contact me (206-320-9847; email: weslar@comcast.net). A letter expressing your support for this project to Representative Ed Murray, and your appreciation for his hard work on our behalf in mitigating I-5 impacts in our neighborhoods, would also certainly be well received. There will very likely be hearings before the house and senate transportation committees regarding this project in the upcoming session in Olympia. If you are at all interested in seeing this project come to realization, your attendance and commentary at this hearing would be most valuable. [Editor’s note: Rep. Ed Murray can be reached at murray_ed@leg.wa.gov, or by U.S. mail at P.O. Box 40600, Olympia, WA 98504-0600. For information on hearings and bills, the web site is www.leg.wa.gov, and the free legislative hotline is 1-800-562-6000.]

Gypsy Moth Spraying in Eastlake

State Proposes to Spray Part of Eastlake for Gypsy Moths
Following is a press release that ECC received Dec. 20:
OLYMPIA – The Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) announced today it is proposing to treat two locations next spring for the destructive European gypsy moth; a 200-acre site near Keyport in rural Kitsap County, and a 12-acre site in the Roanoke neighborhood in Seattle.
The Kitsap County site consists of the Evergreen Ridge housing development and some adjacent properties. The Roanoke site is centered on Franklin Avenue between Roanoke and Edgar streets. State entomologists believe reproducing populations of the gypsy moth are present at both sites.
WSDA is proposing to treat the two sites with Bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstaki (Btk), a biological insecticide used in the past to keep the gypsy moth out of Washington. Btk is registered for use in the U.S. by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and is found naturally in the environment. Btk-based insecticides are used by many organic farmers and have a proven safety record with people, pets, birds, livestock, fish, and many other insects such as bees.
WSDA said treatments at the Kitsap County site need to be applied with aircraft because of its large size and inaccessibility of ground equipment to many trees to be treated. Treatments at the Roanoke site will be applied with ground equipment. Three to five applications of the insecticide will be conducted at each site, three to 14 days apart.
Before a decision is reached, WSDA will comply with the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). WSDA will consult with other state and federal agencies, and prepare documents that assess the impact of the proposal on the environment. Two documents will be made available for public review and comment — a SEPA checklist and a NEPA draft environmental assessment.
The gypsy moth is one of the worst forest pest insects ever brought into the U.S. It attacks more than 500 species of trees and shrubs, causing millions of dollars of environmental and economic damage in the U.S. annually. The moth is permanently established in 19 states in the East and upper Midwest. The gypsy moth has been detected in Washington State every year since 1977, but permanent populations have not been established because of aggressive trapping and eradication programs. “We’ve kept permanent populations of the moth out of the state for 30 years,” said Jim Marra, managing entomologist with WSDA. “We want that record to continue.”
Residents whose properties are being proposed for treatment will receive written information from the state Department of Agriculture in January 2005. In addition, open houses will be held in both communities in January or February to answer questions on the proposed treatments.
Sixty-eight gypsy moths were caught at 24 sites statewide this summer. Twenty moths were caught near the Evergreen Ridge development, and five in the Roanoke neighborhood. In addition, alternate life stages (egg masses and pupal cases) were found on Franklin Avenue between Roanoke and Edgar streets in the Roanoke neighborhood.
For more information on the proposed WSDA treatments, call the agency’s toll-free hotline (1-800-443-6684) or see the WSDA Web site at www.agr.wa.gov and click on “Gypsy Moth.” For more information on the health effects of Btk and other control methods, see the Washington State Department of Health Web site at www.doh.wa.gov/ehp/ts/Pest/egm/health-info-egm-control.htm.

Opposition Statement by the “No Spray Zone” Group
Is the gypsy moth spray safe?
There are a number of questions about the pesticide called
Foray 48B the WSDA will use in the spraying (and there will be a spraying; the “proposal” is just a formality):
The active ingredients are the bacteria B. thuringiensis var kurstaki, or Btk for short, and a protein that Btk produces that kills all caterpillars (moths and butterflies). The WSDA will not tell you what the other ingredients are, claiming that they cannot because they are “confidential business information,” but we know one of them is 1,2-benzisothiazolin-3-1, a disinfectant banned from outdoor spraying in the Netherlands because it is too toxic to aquatic life. What else is in there?
There have been no long-term studies gauging the safety of this pesticide. The studies that have been done are all short-term.
From the short-term studies, we do know that between 0.5 and 1% of people sprayed have some immediate detrimental health effects. Asthmatics, allergy sufferers, and probably immune compromised individuals are especially susceptible. (In recent sprayings, even the King County Health Dept. recommended that immune compromised individuals leave during the spraying.) At least one study showed that people could develop immune responses to the active ingredient which might lead to later allergic reactions. In New Zealand, despite claims that Foray 48B is safe, the government relocates sensitive individuals outside the spray zones.
Can I avoid the spray by waiting until it dries?
The spraying, which involves shooting plumes of pesticide to the tops of Eastlake’s highest trees, will leave microscopic droplets in the air for hours to a day afterward, depending on the wind. The droplets will drift for at least blocks outside the immediate spray zone.
A study in Victoria, BC showed that even if houses were left completely sealed during and after spraying, the pesticide still infiltrated inside. Even after the spray is dry, the ingredients still remain on the ground, on plants, on cars, and on playground equipment, and can be ingested.
If Foray 48B is unsafe, are there alternatives?
The gypsy moth can potentially be very destructive, and we certainly do not want to allow this pest to become established in Washington. But…
It is not exactly true that there is such an emergency in Eastlake that this year we must resort to pesticide spraying. Although each female moth lays up to 1000 eggs, the truth is that a maximum of 15 make it to breeding age. Only a half-dozen moths have been trapped in the last several years, and the infested area has not considerably spread. The WSDA may even have removed some or all of the existing eggs this year.
It is possible that the high number of traps the WSDA has been using in the Eastlake neighborhood is controlling the population already. An even higher number of traps might eliminate it altogether. This has been shown to work in some areas, is cheaper than spraying, and is completely free of environmental and health effects.
There is another technique that has been shown to work as well as Foray 48B. It involves spreading tiny beads filled with sex attractant (the same ingredient used in the traps) over the area. These emit a faint cloud of attractant “perfume” that confuses the males so that they cannot locate the females. This has some problems, too, but the attractant is a very specific natural chemical to gypsy moths and is likely to be nontoxic to other life forms. ... continued next page
No Spray Zone, a nonprofit organization, is a community-based citizen group dedicated to ecologically sound pest management practices that do not compromise public health. For more detailed information, see our web site at http://www.nosprayzone.org .

Tsunami and Earthquake Preparedness

Wed., April 20 (7 p.m. at TOPS-Seward School) will be a fascinating and valuable meeting about tsunamis and earthquakes, both of which can happen in Eastlake. As Eastlakers mourned the tsunami losses in South Asia and donated generously toward relief, we were also proud to see news coverage of our neighbor and NOAA Scientist Frank Gonzalez, one of the world authorities on tsunamis (and a recent ECC board member). He and his fellow scientists are seeing in this event both the extreme suffering that nature can cause, and also exciting new scientific discoveries that will help improve forecasting and reduce the losses from the next tsunami—which could even reach Lake Union. Gonzalez, a former ECC board member, has accepted our invitation to speak about tsunamis; there will also be a speaker about earthquakes.

Crime Prevention and Block Watches

Come Wed., March 9 (7 p.m. at TOPS-Seward School) for a dialogue with the Police Department about how to fight crime. Discuss the latest crime reports, tell about your own experiences, and hear about others. And find out how to form with your neighbors a block watch to stop risky situations and be ready for the next earthquake or tsunami.

Volunteers Needed for Community-Building

As an all-volunteer organization, the ECC can achieve its mission of building community and enhancing the neighborhood only with your help. Here are some volunteer opportunities, or suggest your own:

Help plan and produce next summer’s Eastlake Shake
Organize a tour of Eastlake homes, gardens, businesses, etc.
Help with the upcoming Eastlake auction and dinner
Weed in parks or organize new tree-planting efforts.
Help clean up a street—especially Boylston, which suffers from freeway debris.
Review proposed land use projects and help develop ECC’s recommendations on them
Help make Lynn Street between Boylston and Eastlake avenues safer and more beautiful
Distribute the Eastlake News on your block or nearby
With latex and plaster (provided), make a cast of the plaque on the southwest corner of the University Bridge; the 1919 plaque dedicated the bridge’s original name as the Eastlake Avenue Bridge.
Help organize a block watch on your street for crime prevention and disaster preparedness.

Interested? Write to ECC, 117 E. Louisa Street #1, Seattle 98102, cleman@oo.net.

Lighting Up Louisa Arborway!

Fundraising has begun for the Neighborhood Matching Grant Program that will help us light up the Louisa Arborway at night, as well as shore up the foliage, and to fill in the barren spots with native plants. The deadline is in April, and the Louisa Arborway Committee needs to raise $5,000 in donations and/or labor hours by then. If we are successful, the Dept. of Neighborhoods will match us with another $5,000 giving us a total budget of $10,000. This lovely neighborhood shortcut is a favorite for everyone, but at night it becomes less then desirable as a place to walk. The design team of Lead Pencil Studios has worked with the ECC and the neighborhood in two public review meetings several years ago, in coming up with a simple lighting scheme that would provide subtle lights along the south wall that would not glare into neighboring buildings. Also planned is a structure to shore up the sagging foliage, and to fill in the areas of the pathway that are presently barren. Seattle City Light has just come through with the necessary permits to provide the power source for the lighting project.
Donations of any amount can be sent to the ECC at 117 E. Louisa St. #1, Seattle, Washington, 98102. Please make out checks to “ECC Louisa Arborway Fund.” Volunteers are welcome to help with any aspect of this project! Please contact the Louisa Arborway Commitee Chair: Paige Stockley Lerner at paige@speakeasy.org.

Self-Defense Workshop in Eastlake

On January 24th, the ECC sponsored its first ever self-defense workshop at the TOPS-Seward School.
The self-defense workshop was organized as part of the community response to recent crime in the neighborhood, specifically, the sexual assault that took place on Minor Avenue last August. The workshop was free to participants, although donations were accepted for the victim of the aforementioned assault.
The workshop was led by Home Alive instructor, Kathryn Pursch, and attended by several eager Eastlake residents. Home Alive is a non-profit organization located in the Capitol Hill neighborhood and was founded in 1993 after the violent rape and murder of punk icon Mia Zapata. Their mission is to increase public education and awareness about violence and hate in our communities. The workshop here in Eastlake covered basic self-defense concepts and maneuvers.
Participants shared their individual goals and expectations, as well as their own personal experiences with violence and hate. Awareness, confidence, and precaution were discussed as preventative behaviors that citizens can adopt to avoid threatening or dangerous situations. Participants learned the basic self-defense ‘fight stance’ and how to break out of one-hand or two-hand wrist-holds, front and back choke-holds, and the classic ‘half-nelson.’
Following this two-hour workshop, several participants expressed interest in learning more about self-defense.
If you are interested in participating in future ECC sponsored self-defense workshops, please contact Erica Smith at ericas4@u.washington.edu. Home Alive also holds regular self-defense classes at different levels at their facility on Capitol Hill. For more information, visit www.homealive.org or call (206)323-HOME.

Big news in Eastlake’s south end as some of our largest and best corporate citizens contemplate moves. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has announced plans to move from its present site at 1551 Eastlake Avenue to land near Seattle Center. We’ll be sorry to lose them, but are comforted that the move won’t happen for at least two years. … Alexandria Real Estate Equities is the new owner of the building at 1551 Eastlake Avenue that still houses the Foundation. Here’s hoping that as one of the neighborhood’s largest landowners (they also own the ZymoGenetics building and the new 1616 Eastlake Ave. research and office building behind the Bank of America) Alexandria will be as community-minded as the previous owner, Washington Holdings, whose vice president Mike Brooks has worked hard for a shoreline pathway south of NOAA and a safer intersection of Fairview Ave. E. and Fairview Ave. N. …
And the NOAA Pacific Marine Center (1801 Fairview Avenue East) is considering moving to Naval Station Everett. As the Navy doesn’t charge rent, the move would save NOAA a lot of money, but what a loss for Eastlake. Mayor Greg Nickels’ office commented in the Nov. 26 Seattle Times that a NOAA move to Everett wouldn’t have a significant economic impact on Seattle because other jobs are expected to be added in the Lake Union area. We think the Mayor missed the point that a city isn’t just jobs, it’s character. Our losing NOAA will be like other neighborhoods’ losing longacres, the Music Hall, the Twin Tepees, and Chubby and Tubby. For more than 150 years, NOAA’s coast and geodetic survey has mapped ocean shipping routes, and the old surveying instruments and engraved plates are on display at our NOAA facility (ask at the guard gate to see them). Our neighborhood is defined by those big white ships that every December are rigged with colored lights; we’ll not see their like again. NOAA has recently renewed its five-year Eastlake lease. The move to Everett isn’t final, and couldn’t happen before 2008.
Z Lane Graphics (2712 Eastlake Ave. E., www.z-lane.com, 545-1414) offers digital and offset printing and color and black and white photocopying, as well as brand management design services and in-store computers for customers to produce their own designs. … Eastlake’s First Wednesday Book Club is going strong, and welcomes new members, or can advise you in starting your own book club that could meet on a different day (barbrokelsey@yahoo.com). … In theme with last issue’s article about overgrown sidewalks, pedestrian advocate Betty Belleau was able to get some pruning done on a badly overgrown sidewalk on Eastlake Avenue just north of Hamlin. Keep them brambles down, Betty! … Decades ago, Ben Howe’s first job out of high school was servicing Alfa Romeos at Ralli-Round (1512 Fairview Ave E., 323-8000). He went on to become a certified Toyota technician, and has now come back as Ralli-Round’s new owner. Ralli-Round stills service Alfa Romeos, but now also offers factory quality service for Toyotas and other foreign cars.
Eastlake resident and actor Dick Arnold achieves a nuanced performance in an offbeat starring role in the comedy “The Telephone Pole Numbering System,” the first movie feature from The Film Company, a new Seattle non-profit movie studio. For information, see www.nwfilmforum.org. … Seattle Baroque (2366 Eastlake Ave., 322-3118, www.seattlebaroque.org.) continues to attract praise, with the Seattle Times finding its most recent concert “one of the most charming and intimate concerts of the season.. Here were expert performances of unusual repertoire, much of it high-spirited and colorful. Here also were beautiful combinations of instruments: baroque guitar, baroque harp, viola da gamba, period strings and harpsichord.” The next concerts are March 11-12 (Mozart and other composers’ duos for violin and harpsichord played by Seattle Baroque founders Ingrid Matthews and Byron Schenkman); and April 22, 23, and 24 (a small ensemble with noted soprano Ellen Hargis performs Scarlatti, Corelli, and two pieces by Handel, including the Seattle debut of his newly discovered Gloria).
The Eastlake News is happy to mention businesses willing to put “Eastlake” in their name! Eastlake Teriyaki (2236 Eastlake Ave., 323-7531) offers Japanese and Vietnamese cuisine, including meat, fish and vegetarian options, and varieties of pho (Vietnamese noodle soup). All entrees, combinations, and mini meals are served with steamed rice and salad. … And the former Sam’s Steak House is now the Eastlake Bar and Grill (2947 Eastlake Ave., www.Eastlakebarandgrill.com, 957-7777), billing itself as “not too stuffy—not too casual, the perfect spot for lunch or dinner.”
Welcome back, Newsradio 710 KIRO’s Dave Ross, who has resumed his “Eastlake Avenue Crusaders for Common Sense” now in the 3:30-6:30 afternoon slot after a leave of absence to run for Congress. The day after the election, Dave was back at working, telling his dedicated listeners: “Before I ran, a listener sent me a note which read, ‘Dave don’t do it. Politics destroys good people.’ No. It’s the failure to participate in politics that destroys good countries. I took a risk, I did it in front of everybody. I did my best, I lost, and I’m moving on. That’s life. And it’s a hell of a ride.”
Seattle Ferry Service (www.seattleferryservice.com, 713-8446) offers a 45-minute tour of Lake Union, as well as charters. The ship, Fremont Avenue, leaves from beneath the Aurora Bridge from North 34th Street. But here’s hoping that there will someday be a stop in Eastlake! … We were sorry to learn of the passing at age 87 of Thomas E. Sparling, co-founder of an electrical engineering firm that was located for many years at 1920 Eastlake Avenue. Much loved by his employees, customers, and family, this talented man designed the controls on the University, Montlake, and Fremont drawbridges, the access gates to the I-5 express lanes, and the SR520 floating bridge. Like other enlightened Eastlake employers, Sparling supported neighborhood efforts to improve pedestrian safety. He will be missed.

Starbucks is accepting grant applications to fund improvements in local parks, with a requirement that local Starbucks employees be involved in the project. For information, contact Joe White, store manager of the Eastlake Starbucks, 2344 Eastlake Ave., 324-5144. … To help people with MS continue living independently, the Multiple Sclerosis Association of King County (633-2606, www.msa-sea.org) seeks volunteers in carpentry, electrical, plumbing or yard work, or those with pickup trucks or vans who can assist with occasional moving of furniture or appliances. … Local resident Ellen Henderson reports that a listing in this column brought a volunteer to go on a forthcoming health professionals’ mercy trip to Uganda. To get involved: ellenmfh@msn.com, 324-2981

Mention in this column does not imply endorsement by the ECC, writer, or editor. Send your news to Chris Leman (cleman@oo.net) or c/o ECC, 117 E. Louisa St. #1, Seattle 98102.

UW Faculty Senate Chair’s State-ment on Proposed Biodefense Lab

[ECC has a seat on the City University Community Advisory Committee, and is watching closely the debate about a biodefense laboratory that the University of Washington has proposed just across Portage Bay from our neighborhood. Please send us your views, to Biodefense Lab Comments, c/o ECC, 117 E. Louisa St. #1, Seattle 98102, or by e-mail to cleman@oo.net. For background, here is a January 10 statement by Ross Heath, Chairman of the Faculty Senate.]
Last week I was surprised to learn about a proposal that the UW had submitted to build, on campus, a DHHS/NIH Regional Biocontainment Laboratory to work on Category A, B and C bioterrorism agents and diseases. These categories, by the way, include everything from anthrax to viral hemorrhagic fevers (which includes such viruses as Ebola).
Why was I surprised? I was surprised because, despite a request for application date of 6/29/04, a letter of intent date of 11/29/04, and an application date of 12/29/04, a number of key people on campus (including members of cognizant faculty councils) were unaware, or only marginally aware, of the full implications of the proposal.
This proposal raises a number of important questions of significance to the Faculty Senate and its constituent bodies that deserve serious consideration. These questions relate to such topics as decisions on campus land use, security, probability and consequences of releases, emergency response, institutional control, and political/PR concerns. I list a few of these questions today – not because I want or expect them to be answered by a snappy PowerPoint response from a panel of experts - but because they deserve to be considered and debated by a broad population both across campus and from outside the University.
Security (1) Why was a site selected that is surrounded by three open public through roads, that is immediately adjacent to the main E-W pedestrian pathway through South Campus, and that lies close to a heavily used public waterway? (2) Was a “defense in depth” strategy considered?
Probability of incidents (1) What methodology has been used to estimate the probability of releases from such a facility? (2) What is the probability distribution of such estimates? (3) Have the methodology and results been subjected to independent expert peer review?
Consequences of incidents (1) What impact would a release have on the ability of the nearby University Police facility to coordinate institutional emergency response? (2) What impact would the closure of NE Pacific and Boat Streets have on access to University Hospital and on traffic flow in the University District? (3) What would be the consequences of a release into Portage Bay with its uninterrupted connection to the entire Lake Washington freshwater system extending from the Ballard Locks to Issaquah?
Land use (1) What process was used to select the proposed site? (2) What university constituencies were consulted in the course of making this decision? (3) During the many meetings over 3 years associated with the development of the Southwest Campus plan, the site adjacent to the Marine Studies Building and fronting on to Boat Street and Portage Bay was designated for a future College of Ocean and Fishery Sciences building (due both to “water related uses” issues and to its role in connecting the Fisheries and Oceanography building clusters). When and why was this intent changed? What was the basis for the change?
Institutional control In the event of a bioterrorism emergency, what control would the University exercise over the activities of the laboratory?
Collegiality What Faculty councils or joint administration/faculty advisory groups were consulted in the development of the proposal?
Political/PR issues (1) There is a rich literature on the siting of hazardous facilities in populated areas. What consideration was given to risk perceptions and the “dread” values associated with a regional biocontainment laboratory sited on a university campus in the midst of a densely populated urban area? (2) A number of other urban areas have argued that these laboratories should be sited in areas that have defense-in-depth capabilities, low environmental vulnerability, and low population densities (Washington examples might be Ft. Lewis and the Hanford Reservation). How were these objectives taken into account in developing the UW proposal?
A couple of closing comments. In my conversations on the proposal, several people suggested that the University might not be serious about following through with this project. I find this more than a little disturbing. Firstly, a proposal is a statement of institutional intent, so we should not be making such statements unless we mean them. Secondly, if funding agencies and reviewers become aware that our proposals are sometimes disingenuous, it will put at risk all the serious proposals that so many of us depend on to pursue our research goals.
Finally, for the past couple of years, I have worked under the premise that shared governance is most effective when it is collaborative, rather than adversarial. I greatly regret, therefore, that the university administration has elected to bypass shared governance in its development of the proposal for a Regional Biocontainment Laboratory. [Statement by G. Ross Heath, chairman of the UW Faculty Senate.]

Traffic, Parking, Buses, and a Possible Streetcar

Come hear the latest and offer your views on Eastlake transportation issues, Tuesday, Feb. 15, 7-9 p.m. at TOPS-Seward School. The 1998 Eastlake Neighborhood Plan (available at seattle.gov/neighborhoods) seeks to make Eastlake Avenue a safer and more successful “Main Street,” calm traffic on other local streets (especially the Fairview “Green Street”), and make the freeway a better neighbor. The Feb. 15 public meeting will report on the progress and how you can help with new initiatives. In addition to covering traffic, parking, pedestrian safety, buses, and I-5 and SR520 issues, this will be your first City briefing and discussion about a possible street car on Eastlake Avenue.
Readers of our last two newsletters will recall that the City is studying a possible surface rail street car line on Eastlake Avenue, to be financed partly by assessments on property owners through a possible local improvement district. In August, the Eastlake Community Council wrote to the Mayor and City Council asking for details and expressing concern about not having been consulted. Our letter discussed the unusual narrowness of Eastlake Avenue (50 feet from curb to curb) and fears that a street car could jeopardize on-street parking, the center turn lanes and boulevard strips, and bus service. And ECC suggested that any study of a possible street car also be integrated with the Eastlake Neighborhood Plan’s priority to restore the on-street parking that is currently prohibited during peak commute times.
City Councilmember Richard Conlin, chair of the Transportation Committee responded quickly, expressing concern in a Sept. 9 letter that the neighborhood had not been consulted prior to Mayor Greg Nickels’ recommendation of a street car route through Eastlake. On November 9, the Mayor finally responded to ECC’s August letter, as follows:
“The South Lake Union Streetcar is part of my action agenda for South Lake Union because I believe streetcars are a great way to provide local transit service, connect to the regional transit system, and contribute to healthy, vibrant neighborhoods. Connecting South Lake Union, Eastlake and the University District by streetcar has the potential to provide those same benefits to a larger area. I do recognize that this is a very important topic for the Eastlake community, and I appreciate the time and thought you put into summarizing the issues.
“As your letter points out, there are a number of questions to be addressed, including questions about traffic flow, parking, and coordination with existing bus service. The Seattle Department of Transportation will be addressing these topics as part of their work, and will also be working with interested parties along the route, including the Eastlake Community Council, to share information and encourage input from the community. … Thank you again for your interest in this project and for your helpful comments. Sincerely, Greg Nickels, Mayor of Seattle.”
The Eastlake Community Council welcomes your comments and volunteer involvement on any of the above transportation issues: cleman@oo.net, or write to Eastlake Transportation, 117 E. Louisa St. #1, Seattle 98102.

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Eastlake Community Council
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