Some Seattleites want to put a lid on I-5
(The Center Square) – The Seattle City Council is considering building a physical lid on top of Interstate-5 to re-join communities long ago separated by the construction of highways.
Council Bill 120462 is an amendment to the Seattle Comprehensive Growth Plan that would seek to “reconnect Seattle’s street grid as a means to knit together neighborhoods.”
“I have an incredible amount of support for lidding of our freeways and highways. We have seen from Washington DC to Texas to across the country the ability to create more public space, more office space, more housing,” said District 6 Council Member Daniel Strauss. “When the highways were put in they oftentimes separated and segregated lower income communities, communities of color. We see that with Chinatown/International district, and there’s some really amazing opportunities for us to reconnect these neighborhoods.”
If adopted, the bill would amend the strategic plan to lid other roads than just I-5. This could include SR-520, I-90, and SR-99.
As for citizen support at a council meeting Wednesday, the reactions were mixed.
On the one hand, there were voices such as Liz Dunn, a longtime resident and property owner on Capitol Hill.
“I wanted to call in and voice my strong support for lidding of I-5,” she said via zoom. “It could transform the geography of our city to knit these neighborhoods together.”
Before the next commenter Alex Zimmerman, who was present in person, began speaking, Councilmember Strauss felt it necessary to issue a warning.
“Please do not ‘sieg heil,’” he warned, explaining, “my family had to leave Germany because of the Nazis and I don’t want to see it here.”
But it was all for naught.
“Sieg heil my lovely council,” Zimmerman began. Then he proceeded to blame Amazon for all the city’s problems.
“The problem that we have is one zoning, and that zoning is named Amazon,” he said. “Amazon is a monster. A killing machine. A dinosaur.”
He went on to advocate confiscating all of Amazon to “fix the zoning problem.”
The council bill has been on the docket since 2021. If adopted, it would be part of the city’s comprehensive growth plan through 2035.
As of yet, no price tag is attached to the lidding of I-5 through downtown Seattle.
A proposal to further study of lidding will be on the docket for the land use committee December 8th for a final vote.
If adopted, the city would be tasked with “Look[ing] for opportunities to reestablish or improve connections across State Highways by creating new crossings, enhancing streets where State Highways cross overhead, or constructing lids, especially where these can also enhance opportunities for development or open space, affordable housing, and neighborhood cohesion,” according to an amendment to the bill.
