About 75 people turned out Wednesday night for an open house event to examine three alternatives that would have a dramatic impact on traffic patterns in East Aberdeen, with the aim to allow traffic, retail shopping and an increasingly busy rail corridor to coexist.
The study and planning effort known as the East Aberdeen Mobility Project addresses traffic from Highway 12 and backups caused when rail traffic prevents vehicles entering or leaving the Olympic Gateway Plaza and Wal-mart shopping areas.
Consultants from David Evan and Associates Inc., of Olympia, hired by the Grays Harbor Council of Governments, to spearhead the study, said many things will have to fall into place before the project is realized.
An option called the Chehalis Street Overpass is being proposed as the preferred alternative. It would divert traffic north through a roundabout, up a ramp that turns back to the south and crosses the highway and railroad tracks before descending into the Olympic Gateway Plaza parking lot.
“This design concept has risen to the top as the preferred alternative from the core decision-making team — the city of Aberdeen, the Port of Grays Harbor and the Grays Harbor Council of Governments,” said onsultant Project Manager Debra Seeman.
Among those at the presentation were several Aberdeen City Council members and the three Port commissioners.
Aberdeen Mayor Bill Simpson, also in attendance, was taking the presentation and overall project with a dose of realism.
“I’m hear to listen and learn like everybody else,” Mayor Simpson said. “The funding looks like it’s going to be slim to none.”
The city, through its council and mayor, would have final say in the project.
“Ultimately it comes down to the City of Aberdeen,” Seeman said. “It would be a city roadway so they have the right to proceed with the project in the end.”
Working for the city and the Port, the Council of Governments (a planning agency that coordinates transportation and regional projects impacting more than one city, district or agency) organized, secured funding and worked with the public through the first phase of the project, including the completion of the preferred alternative.
The project will move into its second phase with preliminary engineering design work getting under way next month.
Seeman said 95 percent of the people they talked to (business owners and residents) selected the Chehalis Street Overpass option, from three options that included what were referred to as the “Texas T” at Benn Street and the “flyover” from Heron Street.
In an online survey with 71 participants, 40 selected the Chehalis option. Heron Street had 22 votes, and the “Texas-T” had 9 votes.
“The ‘Texas-T’ is not a good solution for the community and the businesses, because now you’re building a wall that’s 25 feet high that separates the north half from the south half, and a lot of the businesses rely on pass-through traffic,” Seeman said during the presentation. “And we push everything out 25 feet to the north, so the curb line of the new facility would be right at the front doors of Starbucks, Taco Bell and KFC.”
The “Texas-T” also would have had considerable impact to traffic during construction, potentially reducing Highway 12 to one lane each way, or even rerouting traffic through the mall.
While the Heron Street flyover had better reception than the “Texas-T,” it also had a significant downside because any eastbound traffic leaving the mall would be rerouted back through downtown to get back to Highway 12.
The Chehalis Street overpass could be mostly constructed on the sidelines, allowing for minimal impact to current traffic.
And while the renderings look serious, they’re the first steps needed to start the project and will undergo significant changes before construction.
“This needs to be treated as a concept and not a final design — it’s not a hail Mary pass,” Seeman said. “It’s the Marshawn Lynch approach. We go three yards, then three more yards, then three more yards and then we’ll get a first down. We’re taking baby steps.”
The feedback received from the public from the first open house on Oct. 14 may show strong support for the Chehalis Street overpass, but not everybody at the open house on Wednesday looked at it favorably.
“In a situation where there are no easy or good solutions, this may be the best of the worst,” Mike Dickerson of Aberdeen said.
Doubts
Some questioned the necessity of the project altogether. Liz Ellis of Aberdeen wonders what impact the project will have on any future projects.
“I know cities and government entities have a certain bonding limit and the flood control and downtown revitalization are both going to take public money — will they be maxing out bonding so they can’t do other projects?” Ellis said.
She wonders if some of the financial burden should be put on the shoulders of the private businesses most-likely to benefit from the project.
“I don’t know that there’s enough public advantage,” Ellis said. “Or is this a public bailout of a few major corporations?”
Seeman admits that public reception could vary, depending on interests.
“It depends on who you talk to because it’s all about how does it affect me personally,” she said. “The businesses like it because their staff will be on time, and people who shop at the businesses won’t have to be worried about being trapped by a train.”
Most are supportive, seeing the progress as a sign of momentum, Seeman said.
“People are excited that something is moving forward finally,” she said. “We know the train is not going to go away.”
Worries of a tight budget on the city’s part are valid but perhaps too soon, Seeman said, with the possibility of grants to be had.
“The Harbor is due for a project of this size and funding from the state,” she said.
The Council of Governments actively has been seeking phase-two funding from federal, state and local sources.
Federal grant paid for study
Development of the first phase was funded with a federal grant amounting to $250,000 through the Surface Transportation Program, secured on behalf of the city by the Council of Governments, and a match made by the Port for a little more than $39,000.
In total, the project could cost more than $11 million.
A reasonable timeline sees the project breaking ground on construction in five or six years, Seeman said.
“The big risks to the schedule are permitting, right-of-way acquisition, and funding sources,” she said.
In the end, Mayor Simpson says funding could determine the fate of the project.
“It’s the old Golden Rule,” Simpson said. “He who has the gold makes the rules.”
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