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| Submitted comments will appear below after staff approval. | |
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| Chase Berenson | 1/9/2023 5:50:33 PM |
| As a Girdwood resident, I do not believe the proposed changes to the Seward Highway/Alyeska Highway intersection should be constructed as designed. There seems to be a narrative from the DOT that this project is needed for safety, however, page 17 of R&M's "Design Study Report Summary: Seward Hwy & Alyeska Hwy Intersection Improvements" report clearly states, "The Seward Hwy at Alyeska Hwy intersection has a crash rate above the statewide average but below the Critical Accident Rate (CAR) for similar facilities, indicating that the crash rate is not statistically different from the average for similar facilities. The segment crash rate analysis shows that the Seward Hwy and Alyeska Hwy road segments fall below the statewide average, indicating no statistical evidence that the segments have poor safety performances or an unusually high crash rate." I would encourage the Municipality to consider this statement from the consultants while deciding if this is truly needed for safety. While I understand that there are changes that must be made to the intersection (i.e., for driveway separation distance), I fully believe that these changes can be designed without an overpass which is not to designed to the scale of the community. Thank you for your consideration. | |
| Michael Makar | 1/8/2023 5:53:19 PM |
| I grew up in Girdwood & I spend a lot of time in the Girdwood Valley. I oppose the proposed revision of the Alyeska Seward intersection. It is destructive to the environment--wetlands. It deletes the current second exit from Girdwood. And it encumbers local business at the intersection. To my knowledge, by law, AK DOT is required to present at least 2 options to the community. At this time only one is being considered. I wish to have at least one other option. Please do not move forward with a plan that NO ONE in the Girdwood community supports. Thank you. | |
| Kenneth Simonis | 1/8/2023 5:51:17 PM |
| I am a long time Girdwood resident. I oppose the proposed revision of the Alyeska Seward intersection. It is destructive to the environment--wetlands. It deletes the current second exit from Girdwood. And it encumbers local business at the intersection. To my knowledge, by law, AK DOT is required to present at least 2 options to the community. At this time only one is being considered. I wish to have at least one other option. Please do not move forward with a plan that NO ONE in the Girdwood community supports. Thank you. | |
| Carol Makar | 1/8/2023 5:32:32 PM |
| January 8, 2023. Topic: Concern Regarding Proposed Alyeska Seward Mile 90 Highway Revision Being a long time Girdwood resident & the owner of “The Ice Cream Shop” located in the Speedway Station Mall at Mile 90 Seward Highway, the intersection of the Seward & Alyeska Highways, I write this letter regarding my concern about the proposed interchange. I vehemently oppose the proposed highway revision that is being considered at the Seward Alyeska interchange at Mile 90. I oppose it for a few reasons including, but not limited to: • Significant and unnecessary impact on the environment that encroaches on the designated scenic highway and wetland areas. • Cumbersome and inconvenient access to Girdwood and the businesses located on the highway potentially having a negative impact on these established businesses. A proposed barricade between the Seward Highway and the gas station prevents north bound vehicles to enter via Main Street or make a right hand turn directly into the gas station. DOT project manager, Christina Huber, stated to me in a private meeting summer 2022, that this is barricade is a “must” & that a right-hand northbound turn lane is not possible because the turn would be too close to the bridge south of the intersection. She also stated that the goal is to have a 4-lane highway in this area. My response is “Initiate the right turn lane south of the bridge & widen the bridge at this time so a right-hand turn is possible!” Eliminating traffic entrance directly from the north bound lane, directing traffic to the Alyeska Highway will cause congestion at the other entrances & exits of the mall. • Deletion of Toadstool Road entry/exit eliminating the only other possible entry/exit to Girdwood. In case of an emergency, there would be only one possible exit from Girdwood. In addition, many Girdwood residents use this road to enter or exit daily. In addition, the southbound left hand turn lanes need to be addressed but southbound vehicles making left turn onto Alyeska Highway usually no more than 5 vehicles waiting to turn. Many turn on to Toadstool if the traffic is heavy. Forest Fair is one exception where the Seward Highway gets backed up for miles. The left turn from the Seward Highway on to the Alyeska Highway is not the problem. The problem is the Alyeska Highway Hightower Road intersection that begins the congestion. The entire Alyeska Highway from Hightower to the Seward Highway is backed up. Alaska DOT has NOT done a reasonable job of providing other viable options that would be supported by both the community and local business owners. In fact, other options have been dismissed without proper feedback and due diligence. At present, ONLY one option is being proposed. Information & fly overview available at sewardalyeskahwyintersection.com. This proposed option is overkill and unacceptable due to the significant negative environmental, financial, and safety impacts. I have one simple request, please provide me the opportunity to have input to at least one other design option – simpler with smaller footprint, with less far impact on the environment, businesses, the community, but at the same time would provide Toadstool Road open as a second entrance/exit to and from the Girdwood Valley. I feel strongly that this is a reasonable request and should be part of the DOT due diligence. Thank you for your consideration of this letter. I look forward to hearing back from you. I wish to give input to any other possible option. Carol Makar. cmakar767@gmail.com PO Box 767. Girdwood, AK 99587. 907-250-5738 | |
| Daniel MacPhee | 1/6/2023 7:37:05 AM |
| Hello I am a business owner located at the gas station mall on the Seward Highway in Girdwood. I am vehemently opposed to this proposal as will have a profound negative impact on my business. I feel the current design is very excessive as it encroaches on wetlands and encumbers the entrance to the Girdwood community. At this point, I would be in favor of ANY alternative rather than one that bypasses our current business. Please do not move forward with a plan that NO ONE in the Girdwood community supports. Thank you | |
| Briana Sullivan | 12/4/2022 2:13:45 PM |
| To Planning and Zoning: R&M Consultants and Christina Huber have been extremely open to meeting and communicating over the last many months. The Girdwood community was encouraged to ask questions of both R&M and meet with project engineers and DOT Project Manager, who continue to be a pleasure to work with. I appreciate their efforts to host open houses virtually and in person, inform residents, listen to the concerns of Girdwood, and provide thorough feedback. I felt there were a couple items in which the Girdwood community spoke strongly to: These included but were not limited to Financial, Environmental, and Access for First Responders. Some immediate concern about the Alyeska Seward Highway Interchange Project was the cost. The significant cost estimate, while other areas of the Seward Hwy merit focus and expense to "increase safety" was of high concern, as well as the ratio of Federal and State money being spent for this single project. This notion - of massive amounts of Federal money, perhaps irresponsibly poured into one project, does not align with Girdwood's 2018 request to consider evaluating the Alyeska/Seward Hwy Interchange to meet safety measures, along the Seward Highway. Other areas are arguably more dangerous. This interchange necessitates an area of slower speeds, in all directions, to increase safety, and not expedite traffic on this National Scenic Byway, where people frequently stop to take photos. A space designated for this, with a boardwalk could help promote safety and the preservation of high-value wetlands, instead of building on top of them. The tidal area here is evident 1/2 of every single day, and this magnitude, along with the wetlands and migrating waterfowl, rely on this place for functioning, respite, and sustenance. The sea-level design area seems fragile as it is. Another item of concern from Girdwood is the Access for First Responders. The ambulance and fire apparatus with extrication equipment is likely coming from the Girdwood Valley, so any significant seismic, tidal, or highway incident that potentially blocks the access of Girdwood's response -along this proposed design- is a significant source of alarm. Please refer to Chief Weston's comments on this item, instead of deferring [to] a gate to pass on to someone else's responsibility. Just last month (11.17) an emergency blocked traffic near mile 90 in a place that did not allow North or Southbound traffic alternative routes, according to the current and proposed design. From the first and second public presentations, the general conceptual feeling was that a diamond intersection, with roundabouts (not lights) was the most sensible, environmentally conservative, and appropriate scale that Girdwood may support. Alternatively, a monstrosity that is over-built, in a high-functioning manner, does not seem responsible with federal money, in a place like Alaska, while the 11 alternative options and 3 modified build alternatives were presumed less expensive than the recommended trumpet design. The latest presentation stated, if there is a second option, that the second option is estimated to be more expensive. It is unclear if budget is an issue, but the proposed design does meet two of the project goals: decreasing congestion and allowing for increased traffic. Other concerns were submitted from the Girdwood Board of Supervisors Letter of Objection. Thank you for taking the time to read these comments. Briana Sullivan Girdwood Resident | |