Your Kid Going to Roosevelt in the Next 3-5 Years?
It's going to be a very tough time in the neighborhood. There is no way it will not possibly affect Roosevelt and its community.
I just attended a community meeting at Roosevelt High School about the building of the light rail station that will be directly west of the school.
First, as a resident, it is definitely NOT going to be fun. In fact, despite promises about mitigation, I (and many at the meeting) believe it is going to be a traffic nightmare. Despite, several good suggestions about trying to help the traffic situation, we were told "we'll see how it goes" and "Ask SDOT." Not so reassuring.
The real down and dirty work starts in late spring/early summer 2014. It will continue until the station finally opens in 2021.
But, to the current and future students and parents at Roosevelt, I think that you, too, are in for unpleasant times. There were a few current RHS parents at the meeting who wondered about the ability for dropping off and picking up students.
More important came the news about the rate of trucks hauling "spoils" (waste) from the drilling. They will be diesel trucks - big ones - at a rate of about 10 an hour. They will pull out of the middle of the site on 12th NE (and probably have to swing wide into both lanes before they straighten out).
Those trucks will be traveling up 12th NE, right past the RHS sports field, as they go to the freeway. My husband asked about filtration on those trucks to mitigate those diesel fumes and it was pretty much shrugs all around. (They say they will not have any more particulate matter than is legally allowed.)
Early on (probably fall/winter of 2015), at 65th and 12th (a major thruway for RHS students to get to Roosevelt Square to eat (and many of them leave campus), that corner will narrow to two lanes with no parking on either side so heavy, heavy traffic.
Apparently Sound Transit has talked with RHS administration but I don't know how much has been transmitted to parents. That said, I'm not sure FUTURE parents know this is coming.
There will be NO parking around the school and the one small parking lot? Good luck using that. I'm sure the school will help parents form carpools and send out regular updates on the progress of the construction.
Also to understand, there will also be several buildings going up right around RHS all during those years. More traffic, more construction. It will be challenging.
I offer this as a big heads-up to parents, both current and near-future. Roosevelt is a great school and I'm sure they will think of creative ways to manage traffic and, most importantly, keep student pedestrian traffic safe. That is truly my biggest worry for Roosevelt (well, that and the fumes from all those trucks).
I just attended a community meeting at Roosevelt High School about the building of the light rail station that will be directly west of the school.
First, as a resident, it is definitely NOT going to be fun. In fact, despite promises about mitigation, I (and many at the meeting) believe it is going to be a traffic nightmare. Despite, several good suggestions about trying to help the traffic situation, we were told "we'll see how it goes" and "Ask SDOT." Not so reassuring.
The real down and dirty work starts in late spring/early summer 2014. It will continue until the station finally opens in 2021.
But, to the current and future students and parents at Roosevelt, I think that you, too, are in for unpleasant times. There were a few current RHS parents at the meeting who wondered about the ability for dropping off and picking up students.
More important came the news about the rate of trucks hauling "spoils" (waste) from the drilling. They will be diesel trucks - big ones - at a rate of about 10 an hour. They will pull out of the middle of the site on 12th NE (and probably have to swing wide into both lanes before they straighten out).
Those trucks will be traveling up 12th NE, right past the RHS sports field, as they go to the freeway. My husband asked about filtration on those trucks to mitigate those diesel fumes and it was pretty much shrugs all around. (They say they will not have any more particulate matter than is legally allowed.)
Early on (probably fall/winter of 2015), at 65th and 12th (a major thruway for RHS students to get to Roosevelt Square to eat (and many of them leave campus), that corner will narrow to two lanes with no parking on either side so heavy, heavy traffic.
Apparently Sound Transit has talked with RHS administration but I don't know how much has been transmitted to parents. That said, I'm not sure FUTURE parents know this is coming.
There will be NO parking around the school and the one small parking lot? Good luck using that. I'm sure the school will help parents form carpools and send out regular updates on the progress of the construction.
Also to understand, there will also be several buildings going up right around RHS all during those years. More traffic, more construction. It will be challenging.
I offer this as a big heads-up to parents, both current and near-future. Roosevelt is a great school and I'm sure they will think of creative ways to manage traffic and, most importantly, keep student pedestrian traffic safe. That is truly my biggest worry for Roosevelt (well, that and the fumes from all those trucks).
Comments
NE Mom of 3
Review the tunnel contract documents and see the limitations placed on the contractor. There are strictly controlled truck routes, noise and site constraints.
In the end, the station and transit-oriented development will be an asset.
On the whole, though, I think the benefit of having the light rail there will be tremendous. It'll be a huge pain getting it done, but once done -- it's like a big dental project, right? Unpleasant during, but well worth it.
~Garfield Mom
What also might have an impact is the city's intention to add a bike track on 65th. I'm not sure how they plan to channel traffic during rush hour with all the bus stops along the way.
Ben
- The most intense trucking will be over the course of about 14 months to support mining the tunnels from Roosevelt to UW. The trucks are needed to haul out the "muck" as the tunnel boring machines dig the tunnels. That work is scheduled to start in mid to late 2014, although there will be truck traffic associated with digging the station pit before then.
- We've worked closely with SDOT on the truck haul routes and will be constantly monitoring traffic impacts throughout construction and will address issues as they unfold. We've got a lot of experience coming out of the Capitol Hill mining and station construction and will put that to work in the Roosevelt neighborhood.
A great way to stay informed about the project is to get on our project mailing list or feel free to email northlink@soundtransit.org for more information. We have dedicated construction outreach staff who will be with the project from start to finish. Last night's presentation should be online shortly at: www.soundtransit.org/northlink
Thanks,
Bruce Gray
Sound Transit
Confused
Your best bet will be emailing the northlink@soundtransit.org address regarding the trucks. To my untrained eye, the trucks we had hauling from Capitol Hill were all newer models. Given the volumes we're dealing with, the contractors can't cut corners on equipment.
Bruce Gray
Sound Transit
Nearly every single one was answered either "we don't know" or "ask SDOT" or "we have to see." For example, everyone who lives in the Roosevelt/Ravenna/Maple Leaf area knows about Banner Way and 75th and we have for years. It's overcrowded and a massive mess on Fridays. It needs a light and has for decades and the trucks will only make it worse. As people who know this, we then tell you and there's a shrug and "we'll see."
My husband asked about the trucks and didn't hear this answer you just gave about the trucks.
Don't come here and wave off the concerns.
Meanwhile, if you email our outreach folks they can put you in touch with the right people at SDOT to register your concerns, which we will also do as part of our coordination.
Until the work starts, all we can really say is that we had a good experience on Capitol Hill dealing with these issues in a very similarly constrained environment. We'll put that to good use in Roosevelt.
Bruce Gray
As a *near future RHS parent, I plan to use the email address he provided to voice my concerns.
Thanks.