520- Its not too late. Seattle City Council postponed this weeks meeting.

Hopefully you all got a note from Gary Stone asking you sending a note to the Seattle City Council about the 520 plan.   If you haven't yet responded there could still time to sharpen your pencil.  The meeting has been postponed.  Also, From what I understand, the one option that is being pushed forward by the state does not adequately address some significant negative impacts 520 has on Portage Bay. 

The plan that was selected for further review addresses the treatment of stormwater runoff from the bridge, BUT I have not seen where it addresses the containment of airborne road debris resulting in contaminant accumulation, excess sediment and accelerated eutrophication (ageing & filling in of the bay). Brake dust, tire debris, battery and radiator spillage, oily grime, grit, contaminants and spray is kicked up and off the bridge by cars every day and it is essentially consuming the waterway.  Not only does this plan not address this airborne contaminant containment issue by putting a lid on the bridge, but it sounds like it also nudges the problem even further north to fill up even more of what is left of the south end of Portage Bay with road debris, pollutants, grime etc. 

Core samples of the bay bottom could easily tell us just how quickly 520 has been filling in over the years and how contaminated it has become.  Does anyone know if there have been studies investigating this?  Is it a part of the forthcoming EIS study?  Relocated uncapped lanes, additional traffic and the associated atmospheric deposition would result in losing more of Portage Bay at an accelerated rate, IMHO.

The future of alternative fuel technology and electric vehicles is uncertain too.  We do not know what its going to look like when these rolling batteries start crashing into each other on 520.