Seattle Sun Newspaper - Vol. 6, Issue 11, November 2002

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More sidewalks being built in Lake City

By LEAH WEATHERSBY

Lake City's business core will get two new sidewalks next year, courtesy of the City and Seattle taxpayers.

Next spring, the Seattle Department of Transportation will install a new sidewalk on the west side of 30th Avenue, between NE 123rd and NE 125th.

The department will also install a new sidewalk on NE 120th Street, between Lake City Way and 30th Avenue NE.

The construction work for both walkways will likely take between four and six weeks each.

In addition, access to each driveway on NE 30th will be partially or totally blocked for at least one or two days during construction.

Lake City resident Doug Boyd said he is looking forward to the new walkway.

"Having a sidewalk on 30th will allow pedestrians easy and safe access around the Lake City core," said Boyd, a member of a group of local citizens called the North District Stewardship Committee. "Right now, that's not someplace you really want to walk to often especially during rush hour."

However, the 30th Avenue sidewalk may come with one notable drawback: loss of on-street parking.

Mary Pfender, a project manager for SDOT, said there appears to be space for parking after the left turn lane (at NE 125th Street) ends, but the agency is still studying the area to determine whether on-street spaces will cause a traffic hazard.

Ken Frazier, general manager of Dick's Drive-In at 12325 30th Ave. NE, said the restaurant has long wanted to either have a sidewalk installed in front of it or to at least have the area paved to make it more pedestrian-friendly. However, he acknowledged that the loss of on-street parking could hurt other neighboring businesses. The unpaved area is frequently used as a parking strip.

"I'm not worried for Dicks," Frazier said. "(But in) a business district you can't just go through and eliminate parking."

Mike Durbin, who manages both the Capo office building on the east side of 30th, just south of NE 125th, and a storage building directly across the street on the west side, said as long as the loading area for the storage building remains intact, and street parking does as well, the sidewalk is a good idea.

Rod and Marie Spencer, owners of Pony Express, a private postal center located in the Capo building, which has an entrance along 30th Avenue NE, said loss of parking could be a problem for them.

"There's just not enough parking in this area," Marie Spencer said.

Cranium's Coffee Company, located at 12301 Lake City Way NE, will likely feel the greatest impact. Not only will the eatery lose the five parking spaces in the front of their building (which is located on City right-of-way), but the new layout may impact a planned drive-though window.

There will be enough space in front of the restaurant to allow for more prominent outdoor seating.

The sidewalk construction will also impact the adjacent businesses.

Nancee Harrison, co-owner of Cranium's, said she hopes the restaurant's regulars will stick with them while work goes on.

"I'm not sure we could survive the loss of business," Harrison said.

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For details, call Mary Pfender at SDOT, at 684-8052.