It is good that we have so many new restaurants and that many of them have outdoor eating areas on sidewalks and courtyards, but what caught our eye our story about these areas was the horror businessmen must go through to get a sidewalk caf/ permit.
Here is what the story by Camille Villanueva says, "Under the current system, a 10-day turnaround is unheard of.
Yes it is about time that this city "grows up," instead of continuing building far out. I think now, the price of gas will see to that.
My motive to write is that for years we have contemplated turning our rather large property into a multi-purpose building, but have been rejected.
We have heard all the negative comments (about) condos, Denny's and the Sunset Bowl.
Well here is something positive for a change. I live across from the Ballard High School playfield and have watched since the end of March the work that has been (underway) to transform that messy wet play field to a very nice new turf grounds. It has been a work in progress all these weeks from trucks removing tons of dirt, laying miles of drain pipes, to delivering tons of gravel, smoothing all that out, then laying the turf down.
I would like to respond to the editorial about Metro Transit ("Metro Transit needs overhaul") published the week of July 7, 2008.
There are almost 400,000 people - Metro's daily ridership - who would disagree with the statement in the editorial that most buses do not "go the way people need to go." In recent years, Metro Transit has not had problems attracting new riders. Last year we carried a record 110 million riders, and so far this year Metro ridership is already up 6 percent over last year for January through May.
How about some basics to this story? Like, where did they come from since the reporter made it so obvious that they aren't originally from the States and what's going to happen to the spot where Gordo's is located?
Nice beginning to a story, but obvious omissions.
Greg Starosky
Seattle
I am e-mailing you as a resident or business owner in Ballard, Crown Hill, and nearby areas regarding the potential for a streetcar network in Seattle, how that might be funded, and how it might affect bus service in your neighborhood on routes 17, 18 and 28.
The Seattle Department of Transportation is proposing a potential Fremont-Ballard Streetcar line that would run along from downtown on Westlake to the Fremont Bridge, then over the bridge to 36th, then head westbound on 36th and Leary Way Northwest, then turn onto Northwest 46th, on to either Leary Way or Ballard Avenue, with a
Cameron likes a tunnel would be around three miles long with nearly one mile of 5 percent grades which are needed to go under the existing railroad tunnel. This tunnel will be a death trap. The grades will cause trucks to slow down and cause twice the amount of air pollution as the existing viaduct.
The cost of the Tunnel will cost two to three time what a retrofit or new viaduct would cost and remember the citizens of Seattle voted 70 percent against a tunnel just last year.
Listen to the people and rebuild the viaduct.
Gene Hoglund
Ballard
Groundswell pushes park levy
By Dave Boyd
I recently completed two months of intense work on a proposal to renew a parks levy on this fall's ballot.
A preliminary plan for a streetcar connecting Ballard, Fremont and downtown was met with both excitement and skepticism at a forum last week.
Chair of the City Council Transportation Committee Jan Drago hosted the event at the Nordic Heritage Museum, but wasn't prepared for many of the questions posed by residents about the benefits of streetcars compared to increasing bus service.
"Each mode of transportation has its strengths and its weaknesses but different modes serve different people," said Drago last week to a crowd of about 80 people.
Seattle mayor Greg Nickels' proposal on sidewalk cafe permits may be just what Ballard restaurant owners need to cash in on the growing sidewalk cafe trend.
The plan proposes simplifying the sidewalk cafe permit process to a streamlined 10-day period, and reducing the permit price by about $1,700.
Under the current system, a 10-day turnaround is unheard of.
