Ask the City of Vancouver to prioritize funding for projects that will improve safety and neighborhood livability on East/West Fourth Plain Bouelvard.
- by: Jilayne Jordan
- recipient: To: Vancouver City Council, Vancouver, WA
In September 2016, the Vancouver City Council voted to ban through semi-truck traffic on 39th Street between I-5 and Fruit Valley Road. This action effectively sent approximately 98 additional semi-trucks per day (Source: Westside Mobility Strategy) onto East/West Fourth Plain Boulevard, between I-5 and Fruit Valley Road, which is the nearest available east-west truck route and already carries a significant amount of truck traffic. No improvements were made to Fourth Plain Boulevard to mitigate for the impact of this decision beyond lowering the speed limit, which is useless without regular police enforcement.
It is an environmental injustice to improve the quality of life for one group of people (residents of 39th Street) at the expense of another (residents of Fourth Plain Boulevard) without first mitigating for those impacts, especially when the negatively affected group is historically underrepresented or lower income (there are many renters on this section of Fourth Plain Boulevard).
East and West Fourth Plain Boulevard between I-5 and Kauffman Avenue is almost entirely residential, unlike the majority of Fourth Plain Boulevard east of I-5. It is one of the only approved truck routes to the Port and, now, the only direct truck route to the commercial and industrial areas on Fruit Valley Road. This section of Fourth Plain Boulevard also already carries more total traffic than Mill Plain Boulevard and 39th Street (Source: Westside Mobility Strategy). No significant improvements have been made to this section of Fourth Plain Boulevard since 2002 and residents' quality of life continues to be degraded.
We, the undersigned, ask that the City of Vancouver give funding priority to the improvements for East/West Fourth Plain Boulevard, between I-5 and Fruit Valley Road, described in Recommendation 2.6 of the Westside Mobility Strategy. We also ask that funding priority be given to the replacement of the Fruit Valley Road bridge (south of 78th Street) and construction of the 32nd Avenue extension, which are both included in the City's Transportation Improvement Program (TIP).
Further, we ask that installation of a four-way traffic signal at the intersection of West Fourth Plain Boulevard and Franklin Street be added to the City's TIP and that construction of this traffic signal be completed prior to the start of the I-5/Mill Plain Boulevard interchange improvement project.
About Me: I have lived in a house that fronts West Fourth Plain Boulevard for 13 years. I walk, bicycle and drive on and across this busy street every day. I have served on the Carter Park Neighborhood Association Board since 2013. I currently work for the City of Vancouver in the City Manager's Office and have worked for state and local government agencies for over 20 years.
Date: Feb. 13, 2017
In September 2016, the Vancouver City Council voted to ban through semi-truck traffic on 39th Street between I-5 and Fruit Valley Road. This action effectively sent approximately 98 additional semi-trucks per day (Source: Westside Mobility Strategy) onto East/West Fourth Plain Boulevard, between I-5 and Fruit Valley Road, which is the nearest available east-west truck route and already carries a significant amount of truck traffic. No improvements were made to Fourth Plain Boulevard to mitigate for the impact of this decision beyond lowering the speed limit, which is useless without regular police enforcement.
It is an environmental injustice to improve the quality of life for one group of people (residents of 39th Street) at the expense of another (residents of Fourth Plain Boulevard) without first mitigating for those impacts, especially when the negatively affected group is historically underrepresented or lower income (there are many renters on this section of Fourth Plain Boulevard).
East and West Fourth Plain Boulevard between I-5 and Kauffman Avenue is almost entirely residential, unlike the majority of Fourth Plain Boulevard east of I-5. It is one of the only approved truck routes to the Port and, now, the only direct truck route to the commercial and industrial areas on Fruit Valley Road. This section of Fourth Plain Boulevard also already carries more total traffic than Mill Plain Boulevard and 39th Street (Source: Westside Mobility Strategy). No significant improvements have been made to this section of Fourth Plain Boulevard since 2002 and residents' quality of life continues to be degraded.
We, the undersigned, ask that the City of Vancouver give funding priority to the improvements for East/West Fourth Plain Boulevard, between I-5 and Fruit Valley Road, described in Recommendation 2.6 of the Westside Mobility Strategy. We also ask that funding priority be given to the replacement of the Fruit Valley Road bridge (south of 78th Street) and construction of the 32nd Avenue extension, which are both included in the City's Transportation Improvement Program (TIP).
Further, we ask that installation of a four-way traffic signal at the intersection of West Fourth Plain Boulevard and Franklin Street be added to the City's TIP and that construction of this traffic signal be completed prior to the start of the I-5/Mill Plain Boulevard interchange improvement project.
I have learned since my last update that the Vancouver City Council will not be holding any citizen forums in the month of January due to the timing of the two holidays (New Year's Day and Martin Luther King, Jr. Day). As a result, I will be presenting this petition at the City Council citizen forum on Monday, February 13 instead.
Jilayne
We're still looking for more signatures, so please share this petition with your neighbors!
Sincerely,
Your neighbor, Jilayne Jordan
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