Anchorage Daily News
Published: October 25, 2005
The Anchorage Assembly made major changes to city's transportation plan Monday night - so big, some people are saying the body ignored three years of public discussion about future roads and trails.
The Assembly added about $200 million worth of road projects. It delayed improvements planned for the congested intersection of Lake Otis Parkway and Tudor Road. And it made a statement that it doesn't want to build the south extension of the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail.
It took these actions during a special meeting to make changes to the Long Range Transportation Plan. A vote on the plan itself, and more changes, are expected at tonight's Assembly meeting at Loussac Library.
"I was appalled," said Helen Nienhueser, an eastside resident. The Assembly threw in new ideas that the public hadn't had a chance to consider, she said. She was particularly upset about an Assembly decision to extend Bragaw Street, or another road, from Northern Lights to Providence Drive through two university campuses.
The Assembly's votes are advice to AMATS, a committee of state and local officials that has the final say on federal transportation spending in Anchorage, and on the long-range plan.
The draft plan as submitted to the assembly calls for $3 billion in spending on highways, roads, transit, trails and other transportation items over 20 years.
The Assembly added a project for northern access to the university and hospital district, between Northern Lights Boulevard and Providence Drive. It could be Bragaw Street, Pine Street, or UAA Drive, said Assemblyman Dan Coffey, who sponsored the amendment. It passed 7-to-3, with Janice Shamberg, Paul Bauer and Pam Jennings opposed. Ken Stout was absent.
"It certainly can't be good public process for the assembly to take a major action like that without public comment," said Nienhueser.
But Coffey pointed out the Assembly doesn't have the last word. "These are our recommendations. What we had was individual Assemblymen who read this 150 pages plus another six inches of paper and reached certain conclusions about a whole raft of things."
Assemblyman Dan Sullivan sponsored two other major changes: A move to delay the addition of lanes to the Lake Otis and Tudor intersection, and another to express disapproval of extending the coastal trail south from Kincaid Park to Potter Marsh.
Sullivan did not return phone calls Tuesday, seeking comment on his proposals.
The coastal trail vote will have no immediate effect, said Coffey, because the coastal trail project is in the 1997 Anchorage Trails Plan.
Some items in the long-range plan are just a statement of projects already happening, Coffey said.
Will the trail still be built?
"It's up to the mayor," said Coffey. Mayor Mark Begich is a strong supporter of the coastal trail extension.
The mayor has also made it clear that fixing Lake Otis and Tudor is on the top of his list.
The Assembly, however, voted to delay work on Lake Otis and Tudor until after two other projects are complete: an extension of Bragaw Street south to meet Abbott Road, expected to be completed in 2007; and an extension of Dowling Road between Lake Otis and the new Bragaw extension, which is not under design yet.
A spokeswoman for the mayor's office said that road isn't due to be finished until 2010 to 2012.
Coffey supported the delay. "People at DOT (the state Department of Transportation) said at best Lake Otis and Tudor would have a 5 percent improvement," he said.
"Guess what," said Coffey, "there's no solution to Tudor Road. After we do all of these things, it's still one of the roads that doesn't work."
The city's traffic engineer has estimated the Lake Otis project could improve traffic flow by 15 percent or more.
Reporter Rosemary Shinohara can be reached at rshinohara@adn.com.