Gateway Center: New Information
This Wednesday, May 9th at 7:30 a.m. there will be a meeting of the Port Angeles City Council and Clallam Transit, in the City Council Chambers. They will be providing updated information about Gateway Center.
If you live, work or shop anywhere near downtown Port Angeles, the Gateway Project is going to affect YOU.
Please attend this meeting. Forewarned is forearmed.
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UPDATE: There was a meeting at the City Council Chambers this morning. The meeting included personnel from Clallam Transit and Primo Construction, the company handling the Gateway project.
They stated that right now there are still more questions than answers, but there will be periodic meetings to keep everyone updated. Tentatively there'll be another meeting in June. They're expecting to start construction next month, and they're hoping to be done by “late summer” of 2008.
The project will include a 2-story parking garage, bus lanes, a clock tower, a plaza area, and a transit terminal building with restrooms. AND, they also said the entire project is funded.
The City has plans for mitigating the parking problems. This includes creating temporary additional parking spaces on Oak and Cherry Streets, and running a trolley during peak periods. The trolley would take people from the parking areas to downtown shopping, the ferries, etc.
If you live, work or shop anywhere near downtown Port Angeles, the Gateway Project is going to affect YOU.
Please attend this meeting. Forewarned is forearmed.
************************************************
UPDATE: There was a meeting at the City Council Chambers this morning. The meeting included personnel from Clallam Transit and Primo Construction, the company handling the Gateway project.
They stated that right now there are still more questions than answers, but there will be periodic meetings to keep everyone updated. Tentatively there'll be another meeting in June. They're expecting to start construction next month, and they're hoping to be done by “late summer” of 2008.
The project will include a 2-story parking garage, bus lanes, a clock tower, a plaza area, and a transit terminal building with restrooms. AND, they also said the entire project is funded.
The City has plans for mitigating the parking problems. This includes creating temporary additional parking spaces on Oak and Cherry Streets, and running a trolley during peak periods. The trolley would take people from the parking areas to downtown shopping, the ferries, etc.
Labels: Clallam Transit, Gateway Center, Gateway Project, Port Angeles City Council, Primo Construction
posted by Tom Harper at 4:34 PM
17 Comments:
Thanks for the heads up. I wonder if we spend the time showing up and expressing our concerns it will have an impact on the Rogers Transient Station.
I've got an idea for a needle exchange program and a condom give away.
Does anybody have any ideas on how to create more parking spaces?
Oh yeah, any ideas how it's all going to be paid for?
The writings on the wall kids, business licences for all... it's just the begining.
I understand the plan is to close the parking lot on Lincoln, by Mathews Glass, for the summer ... even though construction Transient Station won't start until September. What's up with that?
"Rogers Transient Station" LOL. I doubt if there's anything we can do about Gateway. It seems to be coming through like a freight train whether anyone wants it or not. And those business licenses will help pay for it. They can just keep jacking up the price every year.
I didn't know they were planning to close that parking lot this summer. But that figures.
That update sounds encouraging. The same information is in today's PDN. Let's hope it's all true and there won't be any secret U-turns or backstabbings.
Yes, it sounds great. I hope everybody does their part and pulls it off.
what can you possibly mean "sounds great" this is a disaster! Have you seen the transit hub in Olympia? It drove away existing business, and the amount of riff-raf in the area is alarming. At any time --day or night-- you can find homeless, crazies and junkies hanging out (not using the bus system, mind you). It's an eyesore! So, what's the deal? Who's making money? How did PRIMO get the deal....another bedroom deal? Why do we NEED a transit hub right next to the ferry? Do tourists need this? Who will this serve? Anyone? Would someone explain it to me?
I have to agree with Fiddlesticks that it's totally retarded to build a $14 million bus stop right in the middle of town. Unfortunately it's a done deal. Too many powerful interests are in favor of it, the kind of people who get what they want.
At this point all we can do is make the best of it, make lemonade or whatever you want to call it. Hopefully the parking problems will be mitigated during the construction, and the final project will have plenty of parking and other amenities that tourists (and residents) will use. We're stuck with it so we might as well hope for the best.
Do you know if that building at the corner of North Lincoln and Railroad Avenue is going to be torn down for Gateway? It's the building where the Thai and Indian restaurants are. Nobody seems to know. I get a different answer every time I ask someone.
Eric Rose: I removed your comment from the blog. You probably don't want your e-mail address displayed on the Internet.
I've saved a copy of your comment and e-mail address. We need to handle this through our attorney, and he will be contacting you.
The bright side is, all those street people that hang out at the current bus stop will soon have a $15 million bus stop to hang out at. Progress, no?
I hope the construction work and all the traffic jams don't cause too much trouble for businesses. I'm afraid that some of the businesses that are just barely making it might not survive this period without going under.
Has anyone spotted this season's downtown crazy person? He's the skinny kid who walks around the downtown area and loves, I mean really loves, to use the orange flags when he crosses First Street between Country Aire and Bella Italia. He's also been spotted at the Veteran's Park jabbering about "Planet Earth" being a "space ship". Last year we had Prophet Bob, that smelly guy with the shopping carts who hung out at the Itty Bitty Buzz and slept behind the Laurel Street Stairs. He was eventually moved on by the police. Just wait until the Transient Station opens up ... !
Ummm, you mean "colorful" not crazy, or you haven't really SEEN crazy.
Now, the transients I worry about aren't the more colorful members, it's the boozers, the meth-heads, the unemployable criminal element, and the recently kicked out -- by parents/wife/girlfriend -- pissed off guys with nowhere else to go, the runaways, and the hookers (male and female) and the drug dealers. The "sane" are more the issue, not the individuals who have quirks.
And, the sad thing, is that EVERY transit terminal, no matter where..starting with Grand Central Station in NYC, the TransBay Terminal in SF, and every bus station across the country.. is a magnet for the disposed in our society. Build it, and they will come. Be warned Port Angeles....this terminal will benefit a few (the owners of the land, the individuals who get kickbacks, and the corrupt construction companies who snagged a bid without competing) and harm the rest of us. It's going to make our town look even MORE shabby and a place to "pass through quickly" for tourists. It's so nice to see that our local government is working against us. Seems to be the **new** American Way: In GREED We Trust.
Did everybody read about that new 3-story building in downtown Sequim? (Today's PDN.) A mixture of offices, retail and residential. Whatever anyone thinks of this project, the architect says he's "designing for pedestrian flow, to keep downtown alive." He said:
"The idea is to circulate people, just like a shopping mall. You need continuous storefronts. Pedestrian flow is like blood flow. If you block it, everything dies. That's one of the problems with downtown Port Angeles. They have gaps that are like blocked arteries."
This is something Port Angeles needs to be aware of and to take action on.
(I left this same comment at the "Downtown Sequim" post also, since this comes under both topics.)
...Paul L. says: 2nd General GATEWAY meeting on Wed. June 6th @ 7:30 AM - City Hall /Council Chambers...(More Newses - before Dirt Flies)... ;-)...C U THERE !!!
So what happened at the meeting yesterday? Anything worth noting? Any comments from anyone? Are lawyers still in the picture?
...PAUL L. SAYS: "HI" to the last commenter,"ET AL". I went to the meeting on the 6th...No "REAL" news of value. THEY are still working on "PARKING:...(DUH)...
..There is scheduled another "FEEL GOOD" info?) meeting for July 11th, 7:30AM @ City Hall Council Chambers.
...The "BOARD" has (any) info about "lawyers". It's an "Executive" thing - with no "settlement" yet, I guess.
...There is a "BOARD" meeting Monday nite coming up (the 11th) at the office @ 6:15PM. Maybe a report then ?...I'll be there - how 'bout you!!!...???... ;-) ...
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