15th Ave NW Planning: The Whittier Heights Community Council just received a neighborhood grant from the city to study improvements to 15th Ave NW between 65th and 87th Streets. We will get community input, hire a design firm to shape that into proposals for pedestrian and other improvements to 15th, and present results for review later in the summer. The proposal mandated studying the corridor with and without monorail, so we will be prepared no matter what the outcome of the referendum this November. The final study will be entered as an addendum to the Ballard community plan.
Neighborhood grants match money from the community, so Whittier Heights will need to contribute to make this project work. Time volunteered also counts as a contribution at $12.50/hour, so anyone who wants to help by donating time (either at a community discussion, or otherwise), should contact Marianne Scholl at mscholl2@earthlink.net.
Monorail Costs and Revenues: The ETC has a projection of costs and revenues for operating the monorail. These show that it is possible to run the monorail without subsidy if advertising and event revenue are managed well and costs are contained. Please let the monorail board know you would like the system to run unsubsidized; you can give feedback here.