I feel I must address the Jan. 15 editorial, “With museum, events center looks even better”.
You say, “It never was just a hockey arena.” Why, then, is hockey the word used most often in conjunction with this facility? If that is the primary purpose, then call it what it is. The Kingdome was a convention center, home-show facility, etc., but primarily it was a stadium. To call it something else is misleading.
The editorial suggests hockey “is likely to draw crowds from throughout Snohomish County.” What are the attendance figures for existing hockey teams? What is the rate of change for attendance over the past few years? If these numbers are so promising, why aren’t they shouted from the rooftops?
I totally agree with your statement that a “community center should … be easily accessible.” And “easily accessible” Hewitt Avenue is not. Look at what impact on traffic along Broadway during the ongoing “one-week” holiday construction, or when the Marysville bridge was closed, or when Pacific Avenue was closed for a year.
You assert that “it wasn’t until last summer that some people started voicing their opposition.” To me, “seeking public opinion” doesn’t just mean publishing plans in the newspaper. It means that you come out and talk to the people directly affected, which has yet to occur. Recall the study arguing there was “sufficient on-street parking” nearby? Where was it published? I have yet to actually see it. No one asked any of the residents on my street, which is four blocks from the site.
“It’s wise to hold public officials accountable”: Will they be accountable when inebriated crowds head back to their “abundant” parking, through my yard? Will they reimburse my lost property value, lowered by its proximity? Will they buy my house when no one else will, because no one wants to live next to a hockey arena? Will they be accountable enough to admit this was a mistake when, years from now, the facility is a public-funds-draining ghost town?
Finally you say, “That the city council is working with the center’s architects … offers proof that Everett officials are still listening to the people.” Yet the only reply from the city council to the outcry against the arena’s location (or its very expensive existence) is to ridicule those who are most impacted by the decision to build, and who choose to be vocal about it. How is this “accountability”?
Everett
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