HomeMy WebLinkAboutRes 0119 - WA State Department of Transporation (WSDOT) State Highway DevelopmentsRESOLUTION 119
A JOINT RESOLUTION OF THE TOWN COUNCIL AND OF THE PLANNING
COMMISSION OF THE TOWN OF TUKWILA, WASHINGTON
WHEREAS at the request of Mr. Paul McKay, District Engineer,
District No. 1, Washington State Highway Department, a joint meet-
ing of the representatives of the Highway. Department and of the
Town Council and Planning Commission of the Town of Tukwila, Wash-
ington, was held on Wednesday, September 23, 1959.
WHEREAS, at said meeting, the representatives of the High-
way Department outlined present plans of the Department for develop-
ment of Interstate Highway B -5 and the Seattle- Tacoma Freeway (Inter-
state) within the corporate limits of the Town of Tukwila.
WHEREAS, it became evident at said meeting that substantial
differences of viewpoints existing.between officers of the Highway
Department and officers of the Town of Tukwila, all of which had
been previously expressed, had not been resolved by changes in the
planning of the State Highway Department; and
WHEREAS, the Town Council and the Planning Commission of
the Town of Tukwila find that the plans of the Washington State
Highway Department for development of a system of state highways
within the corporate limits of the Town of Tukwila are
in the following respects, among others;
(a) That said system, as presently planned, is
primarily intended for a through commuter traffic.
That in developing ingress and egress routes to
and from points within the Town of Tukwila to said
highway system, very little consideration has been
given to traffic originating and /or terminating
within the corporate limits of the Town of Tukwila,
and
(b) That said highway system, as planned, effect-
ively divides the Town of Tukwila into two halves.
Said plan cuts roads presently necessary for traffic
originating and terminating within Tukwila. By
reason of cutting off present roadway facilities,
and by reason of lack of entries and exits from the
planned highway facilities, emergency vehicles sta-
tioned in one -half of the town cannot meet police
and fire needs in the other one -half of the town;
(c) That said system, as presently planned,
obviously contemplates thatthe present, predominately
agricultural character of major land areas within
the Town of Tukwila will continue. This is not the
fact. Demonstrably, most of such land areas will be
devoted immediately to industrial uses. But for
legal limitations- upon its authority, the Port
of Seattle by now would be condemning most of this
land for industrial uses in connection with its
plan for The Duwamish Industrial District. In
default of the Port's plan, private industry is
not only planning, but actually has commenced
primary site preparations costing millions of
dollars for such industrial development. Cpncurrent-
ly, national concerns are in final negotiations
for land purchases which will, within three years,
bring two thousand carloads of rail freight annually
into assembly and warehousing points which occupy
only a small portion of the total industrial area.
One segment of this area plans increase in rail
freight of twenty times the projected two thousand
carloads. Outbound, these distribution and assem-
bly facilities primarily will use truck and high-
way transportation servicing the entire Pacific
Northwest. Concurrently, ;..a major national retail
concern has already commenced site preparations and
leasing programs with respect to a one hundred acre,
twenty million dollar regional shopping center. The
plans of the Highway Department ignore these present
changes in the character of the area.
(d) The Town of Tukwila has employed as its engineer
a specialist in the field of and highway develop-
ment who has projected the traffic which will be gen-
erated by these industrial, warehousing, and retail
facilities. The present plans of the Highway Depart-
ment fail to take these projections into account.
(e) By reason of the aforementioned matters and
things, the proposed highway system, if constructed
as presently planned, will be antiquated before it
is built.
NOW, THEREFORE, be it resolved by the Town Council and the
Planning Commission of the Town of Tukwila at joint meeting assem-
bled
(a) That the officers of the Department of Highways
of the State of Washington and other appropriate
departments and branches of the state and federal
governments be memorialized to give proper and detail-
ed consideration to the objections of the Town of
Tukwila to development of Interstate Highway B -5
and the Seattle- Tacoma Freeway (Interstate) as pre-
sently planned within the corporate limits of the
Town of Tukwila, and
(b) That the members of the Town Council and of
2
1959.
the Planning Commission and all other officers
of the Town of Tukwila be and they are hereby
instructed to cooperate in every way with officers
of the appropriate state and federal governments
to the end that adequate highway facilities with-
in the Town of Tukwila may be developed, and
(c) Be it further resolved that the engineer of
the Town of Tukwila be and he is hereby instructed
to develop detailed plans of said Interstate High-
way B -5 and said Seattle- Tacoma Freeway (Interstate)
as they will exist within the Town of Tukwila in
accordance with minimum standards of adequacy under
the circumstances described in this resolution and
that the appropriate officers of the state and fed-
eral governments be invited to consider these plans
in detail.
END OF RESOLUTION
DATED at Tukwila,Washington this 22r,iday of October,
3
7, he- i
Lois T. Newton, Clerk
Charles 0. Baker, Mayor
John S ander, Chairman
of Planning Commission