As Mayor Durkan considers the path forward for the Center City Connector streetcar, we are concerned that the Mayor has not absorbed the important history and context in which this critical project is unfolding, and the community-wide value this project represents. As representatives of more than 100 businesses in Chinatown, Japantown and Little Saigon, we signed a letter with a coalition of business and community leaders to share these concerns with the Mayor. And while some members of the coalition have met with mayoral staff, we still await a meeting with Mayor Durkan.
While the current mega-sewer-project in Pioneer Square to update failing pipes below our city has been complex and extremely disruptive, this utility project actually began six years ago in the Chinatown-International District and Little Saigon. Prior to the First Hill streetcar construction, the City rushed to come through our neighborhoods and lay down new infrastructure. Unfortunately, in the rush to do this, there was inadequate planning and city agencies disconnected our businesses and senior facilities from water and power frequently, and with insufficient notification.
As a coalition of businesses and residents, we raised our concerns to the Mayor at the time—asking for help and support during the unique disruptions that were impacting our community. Instead of mitigating the impacts of the infrastructure project, our city government assured us we would have a connected streetcar network.
It’s also important to remember that these impacts came on the heels of the removal of the waterfront streetcar, the waterfront bus line, the free-ride area—all of which were critical connections that served our neighborhoods. It was this same year that the City also rolled-out the extended hours and price increases for paid on-street parking – compounding the policy shifts on our small businesses and restaurants. To our knowledge, none of these policy decisions were examined through a racial equity lens and instead, again, the City pointed to the Center City Connector as the real ultimate benefit for the neighborhoods. The toolkit was developed six years ago to help inform City policies and it’s vital this method be applied to this project.
It is in this context that we would like the Mayor to commit to using a racial equity or economic impact lens for this deliberation on whether or not to connect Chinatown, Japantown, Little Saigon and the Central District to the economic engine of downtown Seattle.
However, we were not the only neighborhoods promised such a connection. When Sound Transit couldn’t complete the First Hill station a decade ago, they funded a separate rail connection to downtown—the First Hill Streetcar. This line was sold as an alternative connection for First Hill communities to downtown. Ten years later, these communities are in the same position where they will miss another opportunity to have a station on First Hill—this time through ST3 investments—and still remain without a high-capacity rail connection into downtown.
Whether it’s bike lanes, street improvements or investments in rail projects, follow-through on previously planned mobility projects is important for maintaining integrity and community trust. This integrity includes accurate budgeting and transparency, but also project delivery. These are not political promises, these are real plans with years of sunk costs and invested community hours. There are real impacts of a severed system on our center city neighborhoods. Connecting us was a promise. Please don’t break it.
Quynh Pham – Friends of Little Saigon Executive Director
Yenvy Pham – Pho Bac Restaurants Co-owner
Jessa Timmer – Chinatown-International District Business Improvement Area Executive Director