Laurelhurst
Community Club
Serving 2800 Households in
November
7, 2002
Councilmember
Jan Drago, Chair
Budget Committee
and
Members of the
11th
Floor,
600
Re: Retain Funding for the
Dear Budget
Chair Drago and Members of the
The Laurelhurst Community Club Board
of Trustees urges you to retain the funding proposed by the Mayor for the
Neighborhood Street Fund in the 2003-2004 budget and to consider increasing the
$500,000 that is currently allocated for this Fund.
The Neighborhood Street Fund builds
communities by bringing together neighbors to address pedestrian and bicycle
safety issues, traffic calming and other traffic safety problems. For many, it is their first community
involvement experience. It is neighbors
working with other neighbors, businesses, churches, schools and the Seattle
Department of Transportation (SDOT) in a very positive way. It is exactly the type of community building
and positive interaction with SDOT that the City should be promoting. The results of the process are traffic safety
improvements that neighbors have worked on for often many years.
Unlike the Mayor’s expensive
sidewalk proposal that could impact the City’s ability to meet basic human
services needs, the Neighborhood Street Fund represents a fraction of the City
budget. It is the only source of funds
for street improvements for neighbors working to better our communities. This is because there is little opportunity
for “sweat equity” to meet the requirements of the Neighborhood Matching Fund
for traffic safety projects.
We hope you will retain funding for
the Neighborhood Street Fund and increase the budget from $500,000 to
$750,000. The benefits far outweigh the
city investment in this important program.
Thank you for considering the views of the Laurelhurst Community Club.
Sincerely,
Jeannie Hale,
President
3425 West
Laurelhurst Drive NE
206-525-5135 /
Fax: 206-525-9631