Several years ago, with open houses and associated fanfare, city transportation planners unveiled a plan to resurface and reconfigure parts of Columbia Street and asked for the input of area residents. We haven’t heard boo since then. What’s the skinny?
— Erik, Northwest (formerly Carter Park)
The project ground to a halt, Erik, due to all that darned input from you area residents.
Just kidding.
Well, not really.
“The project is on indefinite hold,” said project manager Ryan Miles.
In early 2006, Miles recalled, the Vancouver City Council passed a 0.2 percent sales tax increase dedicated to transportation projects. Staff wanted to upgrade some crumbling roads that didn’t qualify for government grants but definitely needed work. Among them was Columbia Street, from Mill Plain Boulevard to 45th Street.
“We were trying to fast track it,” he said. “The original plan was that we would get it done that summer.” The job was to cost $3 million.
But there was also the pesky matter of public involvement. People pointed out the street’s historic details: the builder and street’s names stamped into some century-old sidewalks, the horse rings still embedded there. Meetings led to a working group, which led to a long hot summer of meetings.
Preservation concerns were satisfied, Miles said, with a city commitment to carefully remove and reinstall the historic trimmings in planter strips — without compromising the quality of the new construction — and even to color the new sidewalk concrete so it looked appropriately antique.
But that fall, the city council redirected the sales tax from transportation to public safety. Miles hasn’t heard boo about money for Columbia Street since — except for some spot repairs and curb cuts.
“Taking all those citizen concerns was the right thing to do,” he said, “but it slowed things down.”
Got a question about your neighborhood? We’ll get it answered. Send “What’s up with that?” questions to neighbors@columbian.com.
