Seattle SuperSonics Thread

I went to high school with his daughter.

She also lived in Portland when i was down there... She has some big ones :evil

I went to middle school with Richard Conlin's daughter. Conlin was very anti-arena and was bribed by the Mariners to vote no. She had some big ones, too, even in 6th grade.
 
The Port and the Mariners continue to take massive Ls in this. I didn't think they could look worse, but they just got ethered by KING 5.

http://www.king5.com/story/news/loc...ould-have-small-impact-sodo-traffic/81134932/

On February 4, a KING crew sat for an hour in a spot located in the middle of Hansen's proposed arena site, watching traffic from 3:45 to 4:45 in the afternoon. The crew did not see a single big rig. However, large freight trucks were breezing through Holgate, Edgar Martinez Way, and 1st Avenue.

On February 11, KING's crew watched Occidental traffic from 12:10-1:10 p.m., seeing just one semi-truck in that time. Again, traffic was observed to be flowing without problems on the neighboring roadways.

On February 26, the roadway was monitored from 10 to 11 in the morning, and again the crew observed just one large freight truck. In one 45-minute period, the crew 129 different cars and box trucks, or around 3 per minute.

Starting in 1996, the Seattle Mariners and the Stadium Public Facilities District asked for a very similar vacation of Occidental.

KING 5 dug through Seattle's Municipal Archives, and unboxed long forgotten documents related to the building of Safeco Field. They show broad support for eliminating the stretch of roadway, which runs parallel to First Avenue South.

The Seattle Times, in a column dated May 8, 1996, which is part of the archives, says: "Practical Seattle gets a practical ballpark site", in what is the "most hassle-free spot."

That was despite claims from the Seattle Marine Business Coalition, and head Lise Kenworthy, who wrote the Council to say "Freight mobility is essential to Seattle's economic health, in a letter. William Feldt, of the Manufacturing Industrial Council, in another letter, expressed concerns about the future for Nordic Cold Storage. The International District Improvement Association also wrote letters suggesting the stadium would "limit, deny and impede traffic flow."

But the PFD, which was created by the Legislature and King County Council to govern Safeco Field, saw it differently.

The PFD, in a lengthy, written, street vacation briefing on October 14, 1996, laid out the case as to why Occidental needed to be eliminated.

It wrote that "the street right-of-way must be vacated in order to accommodate the necessary building footprint and associate facilities", and classified Occidental as a "local access street."

The PFD wrote, in the prepared documents, that Occidental was used "primarily as an access to the truck loading bays for businesses that front along it, rather than as a link to arterials used by the general public," "the pavement surface of Occidental Avenue South is in poor-to-fair condition," and "traffic volumes currently on the segment requiring vacation are low (approximately 2,000 vehicles per day)."

The document also claims that the presence of the Mariners "provides a public benefit to the citizens of the County."

The Port is not listed as a vocal opponent of Safeco in the nearly two decade old history of the ballpark, and Port officials were deeply involved in a concurrent project, known as the "Kingmaker." It exists today, in a variation of the original plan, and helps get freight traffic in and out of the Port on SR 519 next to Safeco Field.

The Mariners also advocated for the street vacation. Then-Mariners Vice President Paul Isaki, in a letter dated October 8, 1996, provided talking points for Stadium advocates. His letter lists "bullet points for street vacation letters", and noted "the street proposed for vacation is used for local access only". He wrote, "Through traffic will be diverted to alternate routes, with no appreciable difference in travel time".
He added, "The Council should approve the street vacation and keep the ballpark on track and on schedule."
 
Was wondering when someone would get around to doing this.





They also posted the full time lapse.


 
Last edited:
This process has taken way to long :{ .

I low key don't even care anymore |I . I'm so sick of The Port, Mariners, and the Seattle Times.
 
Last edited:
Best of luck with the arena public hearing y'all are having at city hall


400
 
Yea I'm not holding my breath either. Got too invested when they almost got the Kings. Just hope the NBA returns and I can take my son to a game someday...
 
The street vacation green lights the master use permit, which gives Hansen the green light to build the arena. At that point, the NBA will at least view Seattle as a serious option, knowing that an arena is "shovel ready" (whenever that day comes). Look, I don't feel too confident about the prospect of a team ever coming here again, but it doesn't mean I can't at least root for things that might still make it a reality.

This is pretty rich, though (and really goes beyond any arena issue): "(It) means a loss of jobs, loss of freight mobility," said the ILWU's John Persak. He and others have argued the road is a vital part of the street grid. But faced with mounting evidence to the contrary, he backed away a bit Tuesday night.

Oh really? This new arena will mean a loss of port jobs? What about the fact the Port of Tacoma has been kicking Seattle's butt for years and taken all their top contracts (and local work force along with them)? Maybe focus on all the jobs that have simply moved away due to your incompetence and refusal to adopt new technologies, instead of forecasting future job losses associated with a non-competing industry.
 
Last edited:
Sally Bagshaw a snake. Voted for the MOU, now won't vote to approve the street vacation. I imagine other council members will follow suit. They've been buying every anti-arena tactic for the last couple months. Once again, local politicians won't sack up when it comes down to it. This street vacation ain't happening, the arena ain't happening, the NBA ain't happening.
 
Sally Bagshaw a snake. Voted for the MOU, now won't vote to approve the street vacation. I imagine other council members will follow suit. They've been buying every anti-arena tactic for the last couple months. Once again, local politicians won't sack up when it comes down to it. This street vacation ain't happening, the arena ain't happening, the NBA ain't happening.

Glad i didn't get my hopes up.

The Port paying people off :{ .
 
Just heard bagshaws interview. what a ******* idiot. How do these people stay in office? Who's voting for these clueless *****
 
Last edited:
Street vacation failed to pass. Kiss any hopes for the arena goodbye.

Gonna be hilarious when Hansen develops the land himself and nobody can tell him how to do it.
 
Sonicsgate ‏@Sonicsgate 1m1 minute ago
Occidental Avenue Street Vacation fails by a 5-4 vote @SeattleCouncil. Shameful @sallybagshaw @Lisa_Herbold @CMLGonzalez @D5Juarez @cmkshama

Time for Bellevue to step up...
 
Back
Top Bottom