COMPREHENSIVE PLAN TRANSPORTATION ELEMENT MUST INCLUDE
CONNECTING 128TH ST. E FROM SR162 TO RESERVOIR ROAD
TO COMPLETE THE MISSING EAST/WEST CONNECTIVITY OF THE TRANSPORTATION NETWORK

This connection, included with additional improvements to 128th St E to SR7, will add the missing east/west connectivity redundancy despirately missing from the transportation netwok.

This corridor will not only carry movement east/west but can used to disburse north/south movement more evenly between those corridors

It would be the primary multi-modal east/west corridor

• WSDOT has failed to perform an environmental study on this roundabout proposal that would force them to acknowledge the dramatic impacts that this plan would have on valley environment, commuters, residents, farmers, and businesses along the Sumner to Orting SR162 corridor.

• It seems a SEPA review would be important in light of the study extending 128th St. E westward up the hill to connect with 144th St E on the South Hill plateau.  This new corridor would dramatically change the traffic flow through this intersection and the impacts to the environment and community.  It would take thousands of cars off of SR162 each day.

• An environmental study will be the last opportunity for stakeholders (mentioned above) to have their concerns addressed.

• WSDOT has rejected the need for further study without answering the environmental impact concerns and the paralyzing impacts to the valley communities.

• WSDOT also refuses to address questions regarding the functioning of the roundabout under the unique corridor conditions. (Traffic directional movement, commercial truck corridor, gridlock commuting conditions, downstream impacts to highway access and egress, bicycle traffic, pedestrian movement, etc)

YOUR NEEDED ACTION

Respectfully, but forcibly bombard the Secretary of Transportation and Transportation Committee member’s in Olympia with your emails and letters demanding an environmental study be performed on this roundabout proposal.  (see PLEASE HELP page for contact information – committee members have *)

WANT SOME HELP WRITING
FIRST – open with these two paragraphs

The Washington State Environmental Policy Act requires any significant project to review the environmental impact of the project to the natural environment and the community it will impact. The WSDOT SR162/128th St E roundabout project has not met this policy leaving critical environmental and community impacts unaddressed. 

WSDOT must be mandated to perform an environmental study on this intersection roundabout project to show the citizens of the valley and surrounding communities that they have addressed the environment and community impacts of this project.

NEXT (optional) add your own supporting thoughts - examples may be like these:

The impacts to bicyclers, joggers, and walkers are threatened by the scale of this massive roundabout design.  This new highway intersecting with SR162 will be carrying pedestrian and bicyclists from the Tehaleh developments to the Foothills Trail link on the west side of SR162.  That means crossing over this highly congested, multi lane roundabout.  Frustrated evening commuters will not be as attentive as needed to track all that is going on around this lane changing roundabout.  Lives are at risk.  Their safety is imperative.

OR

While the functional effectiveness of a roundabout on this corridor is in question, the impacts up and  down stream on SR162 are very concerning.  Roundabouts meter exiting vehicles evenly, however, in heavy volumes such as found on this corridor, the space between vehicles is quickly closed up creating a continuous flow of uninterrupted traffic.  This makes access and egress to the highway impossible.

OR

A number of properties will be displaced by this project.  Due to the railway tracks adjacent to SR162 at this intersection a number of properties will be taken to move the roundabout to the east.  This also eliminates the rural neighborhood business center zoning designated by the Alderton-McMillin Community Plan. Two historical properties (McMillin Church and McMillin School) will not be impacted by the roundabout.  The McMillin Church loses its street front parking and puts the structure dangerously close to traffic lanes.  The McMillin School (now McMillin Grange and venue hall) access/egress is made more restrictive due to multiple lanes added to their frontage.

FINISH - CLOSE YOUR EMAIL OR LETTER

I feel that your influence and action is our last hope to remedy this oversight of not performing an environmental impact study on this project.  

Thank you for your support in addressing the need.

(your name and contact information)

CHANGE UP YOUR EMAIL FORMAT BY PUTTING YOUR THOUGHTS AND EXPERIENCES FIRST, THEN YOUR ACTION REQUESTS TO KEEP IT FROM APPEARING TO BE A FORM LETTER.

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