At first glance, the proposed 98th Street project would be a great addition to White Center. This project purpose is to create a walk-friendly area from the Greenbridge housing project to downtown White Center using 98th street.

At second glance, viewing the proposed area, we have to question if this project would provide a real friendly usable walkway.

The first problem we see is the elevation from Greenbridge to the White Center Bog that would require hundreds of steps, which would be a high deterrent for the elderly and the disabled.

The earth pathway across White Center Bog would have to undergo significant changes to make it safe for pedestrians. Then from the Bog at 12th Avenue Southwest, there is another hill to climb on 98th Street to reach downtown, making in this writer's opinion a very unfriendly walkway.

Getting people out of their automobiles to walk this distance will be a challenge that will be very hard to achieve.

We feel their are other needed projects that have a much higher priority, such as the safety of students walking home from Cascade Middle and Evergreen High schools using Southwest 112th Street that has no sidewalks-and with speeding vehicles using this street (many parents auto's) it needs high consideration.

I counted 73 students one afternoon using this street as a walkway between the hours of 2:15 and 2:40 p.m. With speeding traffic it has a high potential for an accident, even a fatality.

Fixing this problem for the safety of students certainly deserves a higher priority than the proposed 98th Street walkway project.

Dick Thurnau

North Highline