I am the spokesperson for 150 families that live on Alki from 63rd to Beach Drive where the (Alki) Community Council has proposed a sidewalk on the water side of the street. On first look the project sounds great until you see the real impact it would have on a very old and stable neighborhood.

The project would eliminate up to 30 parking places in front of home in an area already impacted by the people using the park and the restaurants along Alki. The sidewalk will affect access to more than 112 homes and would require the elimination of several landscaped areas that provide character to the neighborhood and are maintained by private citizens at no cost to the city. Finally the increased foot traffic that now uses the existing sidewalk on the other side of the street will result in potentially more interaction with vehicles trying to leave each property that now exists.

We were disappointed that your paper gave no coverage to the Jan. 17 meeting of the Alki Community Council where we tried to pass a motion to ask the city to stop work on this proposed project, which is part of the Bridge the Gap fund recently promoted by the mayor. There will be more meetings in the next two months that we hope you will cover. Thank you for your time.

Richard E. Warren

Alki