As Seattle’s Convention Center expansion moves forward, community members want the public benefit discussion to focus on a new downtown park over I-5.
Seattle officials are slowly getting on board with a plan to build a new lid atop I-5, which runs through the middle of downtown. The Capitol Hill Seattle Blog reports that the outgoing city council transportation chair Tom Rasmussen has shown support for the proposal, while incoming council person for the area Sally Bagshaw "is prepared to help push for the creation of the important ‘connector’ and is looking for a community organization to take the lead…" Some see the I-5 lid as the solution to the need for better pedestrian connections in the area, and the public benefit process tied to the convention center expansion as the way to achieve it.
Due to its size and complexity in the middle of downtown Seattle, the expansion project qualifies for a unique process called Planned Community Development that helps coordinate and streamline the busy schedule of reviews and public oversight of the convention center development.Seattle’s PCD efforts are rare…
An important part of the process is determining what public benefits the massive project needs to provide to the surrounding communities. According to the city, public benefits can include low-income housing, historic preservation, and public space. Or, perhaps, a new lid over I-5.
The convention center expansion is planned to begin in 2017, while the I-5 lid discussions remain ongoing.
Read the full story: New I-5 lid could be a ‘public benefit’ of convention center expansion
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