The right through lane of I-405 South in Renton has recently been marked as “Exit Only,” meaning all drivers headed to Tukwila and I-5 must merge into the passing lane. (The far left lane is an HOV lane not open to single occupancy vehicles, and the right lane in this picture is an exit.).
Since it’s completion in 1971, I-405 has always had at least two “through” lanes in Renton: the “right lane” or “slow lane” on the right, and the “passing lane” on the left. Safety shoulders and an HOV lane were added later, but motorists have always had at least two through lanes.
Until this month, when a new sign appeared that sends all through traffic into the passing lane on I-405 South through Renton. The right “through” lane is now clearly marked by Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) as an “Exit Only” lane, meaning drivers in this lane are required (by law) to take the exit. But are they in this case? Strangely, the roadbed remains unchanged, and the right lane continues on the freeway mainline as it always has. So are drivers who are heading to I-5, southcenter and the airport really required to merge into the passing lane, or was this just a goof up by the DOT? Unfortunately, the answer may not really matter as much as the fact that drivers are processing this question while they are supposed to be paying close attention to the cars around them, not trying to interpret a new sign that makes little sense.
When about half of the drivers decide they must move left while the other half see no reason to, we have a recipe for confusion, chaos, accidents and road rage. The consensus in my household is that these two signs probably should have been stacked above the far right exit lane, or at least the “Exit Only” arrow should be pointed at the far right exit lane.
If WSDOT really wants for all through drivers on I-405 to move into the passing lane at this point, they should add a new reader sign explaining why such a change is required. They should also launch a public information campaign. Otherwise, they should fix the sign before it causes an accident.
City of Renton leased tie-down spaces and hangars on the east side of Renton Airport, near Cedar River
Dozens of Renton pilots have abruptly learned they must delay their business activities and/or make new summer travel plans. Renton Airport Management just advised tenants in Cedar River Hangars and the Windsock Tie-down area that they won’t be able to access their airplanes for two of the most popular weeks of the summer flying season. The airport has been working on replacing security gates; the work has experienced delays, and has been criticized previously for not being well coordinated with airport users.
Given all the significant disruptions, it seems it would have been appropriate to hold off on the hefty price hikes, and to credit the tenants for the weeks they can’t use the airport.
And tenants deserved more advanced notice of the lack of access to their airplanes and rented property, and more notice of the runway closures. The Airport Management should strive to do better in the future.
An amphibious airplane lands at Renton Field at 2:30 on Sunday, thirty minutes after what had originally been announced as a planned 2:00 PM to midnight closure. The closure had been cancelled with a few hours notice. Saturday’s closure had been similarly cancelled the day before.
Renton airport businesses and pilots had been making new plans after learning that the runway at Renton Airport would be closed for ten hours a day, every day from 2:00 PM until midnight. A runway closure is a big deal, and requires rescheduling of everything from flight lessons, to flight-club use rosters, to weekend getaway schedules.
But in the final hours on Saturday, and then again on Sunday, the runway closures were cancelled.
While this could have been good news for anyone suddenly able to adjust their schedule, it’s bad news if they will now be asked to plan for replacement closure days in the future.
It raises doubts about how coordinated the runway closure planning is with the contractors doing the work at the airport.
This excerpt from the FAA NOTAM list last Friday showed runway closures planned though the weekend. On Saturday morning the Saturday closure notice was rescinded but not the Sunday notice. Then on Sunday morning, the Sunday notice was rescinded. It leaves airport operators wondering what will happen in the future.
An anonymous commenter on my blog brought this uncoordinated scheduling to my attention (Thank you Anonymous). After pointing out the on-again off-again closure, the commenter added:
“Business owners are losing revenue at very tough time due to the mismanagement of the contract schedule and poor communication with the airport tenants. Renton Airport management is making it impossible for business owners to operate successfully at Renton Airport. The unreasonable lease terms and cost prohibitive rate increases coupled with mistaken and mismanaged closure schedules make it impossible for Renton Airport tenants including small flight training organizations preparing the next generation of commercial pilots to succeed in business at Renton Airport.”
Renton resident Nancy Quinn is disappointed that a City of Renton contractor covered so much of her front yard with concrete when updating the sidewalks in her neighborhood. She feels that this oversized driveway apron “makes her cute house look unbalanced and out of character with the street. “Unfortunately, the large expanse of concrete appears to slope toward Ms. Quinn’s home, potentially creating a drainage issue where the new concrete intersects her driveway.Prior to the Maplewood Sidewalk rehabilitation project, Ms. Quinn’s home looked like this. She misses the grass and the right-sized driveway that matched her one-car garage on her 90-year old home.
Renton’s Maplewood Glen neighborhood brims with charming mid-century homes populated by many long-time Renton residents. The well-loved and historic neighborhood is near the Cedar River, just off of Maple Valley Highway. Many of its residents are avid gardeners and nature lovers. They were looking forward to getting new sidewalks, but some residents feel they got far too much concrete.
About twenty years ago the City of Renton determined the sidewalks were getting too old in this neighborhood. The City began a multi-phase project to design and build all-new sidewalks.
In 2018 as some of the sidewalks were being updated on the east end of the project, the city received complaints about the unnecessarily wide curb cuts and driveway stubs that were being installed. At least one resident felt the driveways were a mismatch for their homes and took out too much planting space. This resident expressed dismay at the unnecessarily wide “wings” on the oversized driveways that consumed even more planting area. She appealed to the city to make her driveway right-sized. I was still on Renton Council at the time, and I encouraged our then Public Works director to take the resident’s concerns seriously. He did, and the engineers downsized her driveway curb cut while still meeting all ADA sidewalk codes. They saved money on concrete as well.
In 2020, the pandemic put the project on a years-long hold. The project has recently come back, and I and the former Public Works Director have both retired. This time, when residents voiced concerns about unnecessarily oversized driveway cuts, they say the City has dismissed their concerns.
Engineering drawing prepared in September 2025 show the new driveway aprons at Ms. Quinn’s home (Center, designated by circle number 6). Unfortunately she says she was never shown these drawings. The drawings can be viewed here.
One of the residents, Nancy Quinn, filled me in on what she characterized as “very frustrating” exchanges with Renton’s current Public Works leadership, and she provided me with email records on the topic. She’s disappointed with the unnecessarily wide curb cuts and driveway stubs, the oversized driveway wings that cut into the planting strips, and worrisome drainage issues raised by the new design.
Two doors west of Ms. Quinn’s home, a home was given a continuous driveway apron that covers much of the front yard and eliminates the planting strip entirely
The homes at the intersection two doors east of Ms. Quinn’s have a very wide sidewalk. Residents have expressed some concerns about drainage at this location.
I placed a level across the street, sidewalk and gutter to see which way the water would flow. It was very gently sloped off the street onto the driveway, with just a quarter inch deep gutter in between.
This home in Kennydale features a permeable driveway with a right-size curb cut and triangular wings, minimizing runoff. Ms. Quinn said she was told by City Staff that she was not allowed to have a driveway like this. But permeable driveways are specifically encouraged by Renton Municipal Code 4-4-080: “Surfacing treatments that provide increased infiltration opportunities, such as permeable pavements, shall be used where feasible and to the extent required by the Surface Water Design Manual.”
Sidewalks are very desirable for safety but it’s not unusual for a sidewalk project to create concerns for impacted residents. Sidewalk slopes and ramp widths must be carefully engineered to meet ADA accessibility requirements. Achieving these standards can require significant re-grading, particularly in hilly areas. Past sidewalk projects in other parts of town have raised resident concerns about high-centered driveways, loss of auxiliary RV and trailer parking, destruction of prized landscapes, drainage concerns, and other issues. Public Works typically works collaboratively with residents to work through as many of these issues as possible, preferably during the design stage of the project. Lately, it seems that Public Works is not listening to residents.
About 20-30% of the extra concrete poured at Ms. Quinn’s home is due to an apparent change in standards regarding the driveway “wings” that provide turning radius into the driveway. These wings were historically triangular, but the Renton standard appears to have changed in 2014 and the wings became square. The square wings can significantly reduce the planting area on both sides of the driveway, especially if the planting strip is extra wide. I don’t know of an engineering reason for the change, and it seems to me it should be reviewed. I don’t remember being asked to approve this change, and for all I know the change could have been a scrivener’s error in a diagram.
This legacy Renton residential driveway standard shows triangular shaped wings between the curb and the driveway.This 2014 Renton driveway diagram entrance shows square wings between the curb and driveway; this appears to be the standard that was used in the Maplewood Glen neighborhood.Street view looking west with Ms. Quinn’s home on the right, before the sidewalk project (photo from Google Maps)
Street view after the sidewalk project (taken this morning)
I like new sidewalks but this project could have been done with less concrete, better drainage, and more communication with the residents.
Renton Airport users have been making new plans this month as Renton’s only runway is shut down for ten hours every day. Considering we’re at peak summer flying season, and World Cup travelers are already swarming nearby Boeing Field and Seatac Airport, this will undoubtedly be a disruptive closure for many pilots and airport businesses. There will be similar closures August 3-16, and September 8-21.
The closures are scheduled to facilitate repavement of Taxiway Alpha.
I’ve heard that some airport users were not given advance notice about this closure. Notably, it was NOT mentioned in the 38-page airport status presented to Renton City Council on March 9 even though it has a major impact on the 2026 operation of our airport. Below is the notification on the City website. Similar notifications can be found on the FAA website (which recieves inputs from airport managers).
This notification of runway closure posted on the FAA webpage was issued four days before the closure takes effect. Some airport users may not have received any earlier notice. This closure is especially burdensome for operators scheduling activities weeks in advance, as when running flight schools, selling tours, or scheduling flight club airplanes. (Note that 2100 in UTC time shown in the notice is 2:00 PM in Pacific Daylight Time)
My wife Cathy enters the new home of Renton Historical Society and Genealogy Center at 1025 South Third Street, Renton, WA
Renton Historical Society and Genealogy Center has completed their move from Renton Technical College to the historic Snoqualmie Power building they purchased in downtown Renton, across the street from the Renton History Museum. I wrote about their new building purchase in this April blog entry here. My wife and I dropped into their new office for a visit yesterday and were given an update by their friendly and informative Office Manager, Jennifer Douwes.
The Society’s artifacts, photographs and historical documents have been moved into their new location, and are being unpacked and organized. In the near term these are available for research and study. Longer term, the Historical Society will put many of these back on public display, either in the Renton History Museum, their own building, and/or other secure locations that will benefit Renton residents..
Office Manager Jennifer Douwes, right, visits with us in the entry lobby of the new Renton Historical Society headquarters.
Anyone interested in learning more about Renton’s history can visit the Historical Society from 1:00-4:00 PM Tuesday-Friday, or by studying their growing online content and reaching out to them through the contact information on their website at RentonHistory.org.
Rabanco and Republic Services trash containers are double-stacked on flat cars parked next to Renton’s Gene Coulon Park. Trash cars have been stored like this for the past year.
Last November I posted a blog entry about the derelict Park Avenue Buildings, and the comments drifted into discussion of the trash train parked next to Gene Coulon Park. The train is composed of stored trash cars, which Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) has simply parked at the end of the rail line. The end of the line happens to be next to our city’s flagship park ever since BNSF made a deal with the State DOT to close the Eastside Rail Line– the same deal that ended Renton’s Dinner Train.
This once-pristine section of trail is interrupted by views of the parked trash rail cars
For decades Gene Coulon Park has been known for its mile and a half of beautiful public lakefront, which conjures images of sensitive, well-protected shorelines like this.
But since last year, park visitors will be greeted by a trash train a couple hundred feet from Coulon’s shoreline.
First view many Coulon Park visitors get is the trash train stretching along much of the east edge of the park
This trail in Coulon Park is now dominated by the trash cars stored on the nearby railroad track; nearby residents are concerned that the trash cars are bringing rodents and flies
In addition to being unsightly, trash cars bring rodents and flies unless they are steam-cleaned between uses– which they almost certainly are not. I’ve heard from Kennydale residents that report more rodents than they’ve seen in past years, and it is likely that these trash cars are contributing.
Below are my comments and reader comments on this topic from my blog post last fall, which still seem relevant today:
Do we know why Rebanco and Republic are allowed to store their garbage containers on the BNSF track along lake Washington boulevard? They’ve been there for a month and they stink. Thank goodness the weather isn’t too hot right now
So frustrating, isn’t it? Just what our premier Renton Park needs… a garbage train stored next to it. Our Mayor and Council need to push back on this. BNSF is storing these garbage cars here using the argument that they are allowed to store cars anywhere they have a dead-end track, as if Renton planned a freight yard next to Coulon Park. But this is only a dead-end track because BNSF sold-out the Eastside Rail Line for a cash-grab of taxpayer money given to them by the State Department of Transportation over Renton objections. The State DOT and BNSF killed our Dinner Train in the process. The garbage train just adds insult to injury.
Checking the federal presumption situation, as a city we have almost no way of moving these cars directly. We do however have the ability to specify that biologically dangerous situations need to be fixed. If that means the rail cars will be moved, then this is just a happy side effect.
Those stinky garbage containers have been there a lot longer than a month! It’s been all summer. Yes, the mayor and council should push back BNSF, do you think they’ve even contacted anyone in all these months? Our city electeds will cry they’re the victims and nothing can be done because of big bad BNSF. At least TRY, let the community know what is going to be done. Or is this our new normal in Renton? sigh… (What do you want to bet they are gone by the time the FIFA soccer fans arrive??? THAT is the priority of our mayor.)
I guess the best we can hope for is that the World Cup doesn’t get rerouted. That might be the catalyst that gets the city to clean up the blight (and the garbage train)! Maybe we can convince the mayor that the FIFA will be here in January!
Golden hour in Coulon Park as the stored trash train glows in the sunset
Wildlife teems in Coulon Park a couple hundred feet from the parked trash train
A 220-foot stretch of Logan Avenue South is being closed for four months. The closure requires 21 traffic signs, 7 barricades and 25 traffic cones.This 220 foot closure of Logan Ave between the Piazza Park and Legacy Square has necessitated the detours.
A two-hundred twenty foot closure of Logan Avenue South begins tomorrow. The closure requires the placement of 21 traffic signs, 7 barricades, and 25 traffic cones that will remain in place for the next four months.
The closure will allow “festival” use of Logan Avenue between the Piazza and Legacy Square.
While this “festival street” concept was proposed in the Downtown Civic Core Action plan, the implementation being used today is different than what was described in the plan. The downtown core plan called for South Second and Third Streets to be converted to two-way traffic, which would have made the Logan Ave detours much simpler to implement. In addition, the downtown core plan called for the street to only be closed for “events” like the farmers market, and then reopened when the event was finished. The plan envisioned hours-long events, not four-month events.
Since South Second Street is still a one-way street, and has a four-block-long center divider, the detour route is complex and has an abrupt 60-foot-long , three-lane crossover for motorists driving from the Landing or Boeing into downtown Renton. Logan Avenue is the main corridor connecting these commercial zones. With this closure, southbound motorists who want to go to Legacy square or patronize businesses on South Third Street like Boon Boona or Common Ground Coffee will need to turn right on Second Street and then quickly get left of the divider in order to follow the detour route, or else they must drive all the way to Rainier Avenue. The lane shifts necessary on Second Street don’t facilitate the multiple checks and typical advanced signalling that we all learned in driver’s training– so drivers will have to be on high-alert to make this maneuver.
These detours will add to traffic congestion in Renton at a time when Renton School District is asking Renton to permanently close the nearby South Tobin Street. Since traffic is often bad in this area even without these closures, I anticipate traffic jams to form in these detour routes during the summer.
Logan Ave South was designed to serve as the main connection between the Landing and Downtown RentonNormally, southbound drivers on Logan can either proceed straight to reach businesses on the east end of downtown, or turn right on (one-way) Second Street here to reach businesses on the west end of downtown. The straight path is being closed for four months, so all motorists will be forced to turn right.After motorist turn right on South Second Street, they’ll have about 50-60 feet to shift two lanes left to avoid being on the wrong side of the center-island/divider. They’ll have to even move left one additional lane to turn left for the detour route.This overhead view shows how quickly Logan Ave South southbound drivers (coming from top in this view) will have to switch lanes to the left to be on the left-turning lane of South Second Street and not get blocked by the center dividerOne block after their forced right turn motorists need to be in the far left lane of South Second Street here, driving west, in order to follow the detour route to the east end of downtown where Legacy Square events and many popular local businesses are located. Cautious drivers and out-of-town drivers will set a slow pace for these three lane changes and the detour route. Fast drivers that cut off the slower drivers may cause accidents.Festival description from Downtown Civic Core Action Plan. “When not used for events, Logan Avenue S. would be open to vehicles.”Also from Downtown Civic Core Action Plan: South Second Street and South Third Street would both be converted to two-way streets, making it easier to close Logan Ave South between them without consequences.The Downtown Civic Core Action Plan calls for special pavement and no curbs in the Logan Festival Street. This has not been done.This is a screenshot from a City of Renton social media announcement about the pending closure.
A painter is applying a mural next to Renton’s Legacy Square today (Saturday, May 23)
Renton City Council has discussed the artwork for Legacy Square at several public meetings. In their last meeting on this topic (May 4th), they still had not agreed on the murals for either the side of the church abuting Legacy Square or for the stage doors.
The City’s “In Case You Missed it” summary of the May 4th Council Meeting says: “Following up from the April COW, the Legacy Square artwork was included in the consent agenda. During the meeting, council pulled the item for discussion; during which Community Economic & Development Administrator Gina Estep provided an overview of the community engagement and Arts Commission process over the past year that led to the proposed design. After discussion, the council did not approve the artwork and requested additional community engagement and council input in the final design.”
I was therefore surprised to see a professional crew painting a mural at Legacy Square on the side of the church today at 1:00. I don’t think the public has been informed what to expect in this mural. And since this is a three-day holiday weekend, I presume some type of overtime pay is involved.
I checked Council records for the May 11 and May 18 Council Meetings, and didn’t spot any further votes about this artwork. I suppose I could have missed them, but I also have not seen any public messaging about this artwork.
It looks like a different design than the one that was officially proposed after the RFP, artist selection, Arts Commission review, and public council debate.
If anyone knows what this artwork will be, or when/how it was approved, I would appreciate your sharing it in a comment. Thank you!
This is the design that was proposed for this wall, and has been the subject of Council discussions. The discussions were covered in detail by the Renton Signal in this article here.
This design does not look like the dragon that the Council had been discussing. I’m not sure if the public has been given information about what this design will be.
Renton’s Community Center stack-up of activities reminds me of this memorable scene from the Marx Brothers “A Night at the Opera.” Many classes, meetings, performances and activities are getting moved from other city buildings that have all been closed at the same time. Schedules are being altered frequently to fit everything in, and conflicts are still arising.
Since I retired from Council in 2021, our Renton Public Works Director Martin Pastucha has closed numerous public buildings, typically without replacing them. And with current temporary closures, Renton has nine fewer public buildings currently in service than we did when I retired. They didn’t all have to be closed.
We’re currently coping with temporary or permanent closure of the Pavilion Event Center, 200 Mill Avenue, the Don Persson Renton Senior Center, Carco Theater, the Renton History Museum, the former Chamber of Commerce building, Rainier Flight Services airport classrooms, the Landing Gear Works historic tower building, and the Landing Gear Works installation hangar.
While a few of the individual closures are understandable, in the big picture we can’t lose nine public buildings simultaneously without harming the quality of our city services.
In my household we’ve seen city class times changed from one week to the next and kids performances rescheduled or canceled, often with little notice, as our Parks workers do their very best to try to fit everything in with too few facilities. This evening two of my family members noticed each of them has an event scheduled in the same room of the Community Center at the same time, even though the events are not compatible. They’ll contact the parks department tomorrow to try to work it out.
Renton leadership should analyze how this happened on one of Renton’s biggest summers ever. We’re celebrating 125 years as a city, our 40th River Days, our 25th Farmers Market, and hosting a World Cup soccer team– but without our Senior Center, Pavilion, Carco Theater, our History Museum, Mill Avenue Building, or our former Chamber of Commerce building. And our airport has lost vitality with the abandonment of three key facilities at the same time that it’s being marketed to World Cup fly-in visitors.
Maintaining buildings and keeping them in service is hard. I get that. But past Public Works Directors were able to do it, and we should expect our current Public Works Director to do it to.
On Monday I posted that Renton Mayor Pavone cast a controversial tie-breaking vote regarding the Tobin Street vacation; state law says that the votes of four council members are necessary to pass a vacation ordinance, and only three council members gave their support to proceed to the next step of the process.
The “For A Better Renton” organization has formally notified the city that they are challenging the legitimacy of the tie-breaking vote. They’ve sent a letter to the Renton City Attorney, Renton elected officials, and staff.
They posted the letter on their Facebook page. I’ve included a screenshot of their letter below. (For background on this issue please see my Monday night blog post here.)
This is a soil cell being installed to grow a tree in the newly revised Piazza Park. It will hold planting soil for the tree’s roots, and be covered with concrete.This is the location of the soil cell in above photo, as it appeared in 2023. The 2000 Piazza design interspersed pavement with natural planting areas throughout. This was done to create a “Garden Piazza” feel, and support a dense tree canopy to beat summer heat.
As I was walking past the Piazza Park in downtown Renton recently, I came across a friend who asked me about the unusual plastic honeycomb being installed in two locations near South Third Street. Before I could answer her definitively, I had to come home, search the City website, and check the plans.
These black plastic structures are soil cells, a 25-year-old invention to help trees grow in heavily-paved urban landscapes.
Street trees and other trees surrounded by pavement sometimes struggle to thrive because of compacted soil and shortages of water. Soil cells can help solve these issue by holding uncompacted garden soil and accepting drip irrigation water.
The downside is that they can cost about $10,000 each installed (which is a lot for one tree), and no one has more than 25 years of experience with them so there is no proof of their long-term life expectancy.
Most of Renton’s street trees still get planted the old fashioned way, by designing reasonably wide 4-foot or 6-foot planting strips, choosing a species with deep roots that does well in urban street settings, excavating a hole more than three times larger than the root ball and filling it with good planting soil, and using a water bag while it is getting established. Ideally the adjacent pavement is installed on “structural soil” –a mix of crushed rock and sandy loam– to accommodate mature root growth of the tree.
But the Piazza has recently seen two dozen of it’s significant trees cut down, and is going to be widely paved over with just small areas of grass and plants here and there. Its two water features have also been removed. So on hot summer days, visitors will flock to any shade they can find. Hopefully these soil cells work to grow at least a couple of big replacement trees.
(As I’ve covered before, I would not have chosen to spend $3 million rebuilding our 25-year-old Piazza Park, including taking out trees and water features. And even if directed to do so, I would not have started the project just ten months before we’ve asked the world to come see our downtown. But we are where we are, and I hope it is successful.)
A second soil cell is being installed for a new tree in the Piazza near South Third Street. This hole is just a few feet away from a 52-inch diameter water main owned by Seattle Public Utilities.
As can be seen from the permit drawing, the above excavation for the soil cell is a few feet from Seattle’s 52-inch diameter water main. The water main has approximately four feet of soil covering it. There is little margin for error. If either pipeline was ever errantly broken by heavy equipment, it could release 100,000 gallons per minute of water into downtown Renton, quickly flooding nearby properties.Soil cell details shown in the permit drawingGoodbye to the shade. Most of the tree canopy in this photo has been removed. (Photo looking South in 2023)The trees and plantings in the background have all been removed. So has the fountain.In this map of significant trees in the Piazza, the 23 trees with red dots were scheduled for removal. From my photos it appears that two or three additional trees may have been removed near the center of the Piazza.
Concept drawing for a possible Dick’s Drive-In in the parking lot of Home Depot, next to Renton City Hall. This image is from the City’s public pre-application files here.
Dick’s Drive-in, the most popular local hamburger chain in the Seattle area, is formally exploring opening a restaurant in Renton. They’ve come in for a pre-application conference, including making a formal submission to the City of Renton. They are exploring potentially locating a restaurant in the Home Depot lot, near Renton City Hall. This would be a great location. They have considered it in the past, even back when the Home Depot was a Sam’s Club. The pre-application files have been posted to the City’s public website.
I’m very happy they are looking at Renton again. In addition to providing excellent working conditions for their employees and providing great food at a low price, there’s something uniquely comforting about a late-night stop at Dick’s Drive-In.
Dick’s isn’t just another hamburger stand; it’s become an integral part of the the northwest itself. Generations of local residents have enjoyed Dick’s burgers and fries after football games, concerts, first dates, and long shifts at work. In a region obsessed with reinvention, Dick’s remains largely unchanged from how I remember it on my first visit in the early 1980s. It’s affordable, unpretentious, delicious, and woven into our everyday lives in the Northwest.
In recent years I’ve visited Dick’s Drive-in Seattle and other nearby cities. And I’ve enjoyed visits from Dick’s food truck at special events in Renton. I always advocated for encouraging the company to open a store in Renton while I was on Council. This pre-application does not necessarily mean it will happen, but it is as close as we’ve come.
I wish them success as they go through the process, and hope to enjoy a new Renton Dick’s restaurant soon.
The pre-application submittal and the City’s report on the meeting can be found on the City’s public website here.
Concept map showing location. This image from City’s website hereArchitect’s rendering of possible new Renton restaurant. Image from City’s pre-application files here
This map from Renton’s Six-Year Transportation Improvement Plan shows South Second Street being reworked to carry two-way traffic. South Tobin Street (already a two-way street) is immediately north of South Second, and would be an important detour during construction. (South Third Street only carries eastbound traffic.)South Second Street currently has four lanes running westbound past Renton High School. They are oddly separated by a planted median that dates back to when the street was a two-way street prior to the 1960s. The Renton Six-Year Transportation Improvement Plan calls for this street to be returned to two-way.
One of the many bright suggestions from residents at last night’s hearing on South Tobin Street was to at least keep the street open until South Second Street gets its two-way conversion that the City has been planning for over a decade.
The South Second Street conversion has been part of Renton’s Downtown Civic Core Vision and Action Plan for years, and it has received over a million dollars in grant funding. It has appeared in Renton’s Six Year Transportation plan since at least 2018, and maybe earlier.
South Second Street has been one-way westbound since the 1960s. When the street is converted to two-way, it could carry some of the eastbound traffic currently carried by Tobin, which would be especially important when Airport Way gets blocked from accidents.
Furthermore, the conversion of South Second Street will require that every intersection on the South Second street be reworked, requiring significant lengthy closures of South Second Street. These closures would be much more painful to motorists without South Tobin Street. South Third Street is a one-way westbound street, and can not relieve South Second’s eastbound traffic during construction.
At least two Councilmembers at last night’s Council Meeting wanted to explore this idea further, and they made a motion to delay consideration of vacating Tobin Street until after the Second Street conversion was complete. During the debate on their motion, both Renton’s Mayor and Public Works Director indicated that they had no knowledge of the Renton High School rebuild schedule; this was surprising to many of us, since the schedule has been widely publicized for at least a year and shows the School’s construction continuing until mid-2030.
Renton’s Public Work’s director did say that South Second Street could potentially be converted within the next five years. These timelines give even more credibility to the residents’ suggestion that Tobin remain open, at least through completion of South Second Street. At that time a new transportation study could be completed with the new street patterns, and a better assessment made regarding whether Tobin could be closed.
As a side note, the additional five years of keeping South Tobin Street open would make it more clear whether a potential mandatory airport runway extension would permanently close Airport Way, shifting traffic to Tobin. I’ve described this concern in this comment on one of my earlier blog entries on this topic.
Delaying the vacation of South Tobin Street at least until after South Second Street is converted would not prevent completion of the new Renton High School, and it seems like the preferred, rational solution that prevents any irreversible errors in Renton’s transportation planning. I thank the three Councilmembers that appear to support this plan, Councilmembers Rivera, Van, and O’Hallaron. I also thank downtown resident Sarah Becker, who was the first person I know to point out that South Second should be converted to two-way before there is any talk of closing Tobin. (Ms Becker had also been an outspoken advocate of saving the Tobin neighborhood from destruction.)
As I covered in my previous blog post, the School District and Mayor do not currently have enough Council votes to pass an ordinance immediately vacating South Tobin Street. The idea to table the vacation request until after the South Second Street conversion, and ideally a subsequent traffic study following conversion, could be a the sensible and necessary compromise on this issue.
South Second Street two-way conversion is project number 22 in the Six Year TIP, and is shown in yellow because it is partially funded already.This excerpt from the Six-Year TIP includes South Second Street two-way conversion as project number 22, partially funded.This diagram from page 47 of the Downtown Civic Core Vision and Action Plan describes the conversion of South Second Street to two-way as a “bold move to improve circulation” that will have “dramatic and positive effect on the area.” Since circulation already needs to be improved, Renton residents feel this project should be completed before there is any discussion of closing the two-way South Tobin Street.
In the back row Councilmember O’Halloran looks on as Councilmember Rivera questions Renton Public Works Director Martin Pastucha about traffic issues that would be raised by closing Tobin. The City Clerk and City Attorney are in the front row.
Tonight’s Public Hearing on whether Renton should give up South Tobin Street raised numerous questions and appears to not have resolved whether South Tobin Street will in fact be vacated. (See background on this issue here).
The hearing began with Councilmember Ryan McIrvin recusing himself because he is married to a school board member, which seemed to me and many others in attendance an appropriate choice.
Of the remaining six councilmembers, three Council members voted against advancing the vacation request, and three voted for advancing it.
The Mayor then stepped in to break the tie, voting to advance the vacation request to the next step: appraisal and preparation of an ordinance.
But left unspoken was that Washington law requires FOUR COUNCIL MEMBER VOTES TO PASS AN ORDINANCE, including a VACATION ORDINANCE. The Mayor can’t break a 3-3 tie to pass an ordinance. The Mayor is now preparing an ordinance that he does not have the votes to pass. RCW 35.23.11 says “No ordinance and no resolution or order shall have any validity or effect unless passed by the votes of at least four councilmembers.” Additionally, RCW 35.12.100 makes it clear the Mayor can’t vote on a tie to pass an ordinance: “The mayor shall preside over all meetings of the city council, when present, but shall have a vote only in the case of a tie in the votes of the councilmembers with respect to matters other than the passage of any ordinance, grant, or revocation of franchise or license, or any resolution for the payment of money. “
So the School District is now on notice that they only have three Renton Councilmembers supporting their vacation request, and they should be careful about spending taxpayer money to further the design based on the closure of South Tobin Street.
The District and perhaps the Mayor might start approaching Council Members to change their positions, but this should be done in the light of day using a fair, open public process. Many, many people will want to know why any Council votes gets changed at this stage, following a very public meeting and a very memorable vote.
Procedural errors tonight:
There were a few procedural errors tonight that kept the Public Hearing from going as smoothly as it should have, and might have denied some legitimate public comment.
The first error was not as significant but it got things off to an awkward start. The Mayor first called on a speaker for a public hearing that was scheduled later on the agenda, and that speaker gave his full testimony. After this, the Mayor began calling names from the correct public hearing.
Then many speakers were surprised that the public comment was limited to three minutes, when it is typically five for a public hearing. This surprise caused some speakers to rush their testimony.
I’ve been told by one resident that he had signed up to speak, and he was never called on. There may have been others in this group as well. It’s possible that the two signup sheets for the two hearings got mixed up during the sign-in stage. Such a mixup is unfair to the public and should have been corrected at the hearing. The Mayor could have said “Is there anyone who signed up that did not get a chance to speak?,” which is commonly done at public hearings.
Lastly, at the end of the hearing, there was a three-to-three voice-vote regarding advancing the vacation request, and the Mayor erroneously called it a win for advancing the vacation. It took Councilmember Carmen Rivera firmly insisting on an accounting of each vote (essentially a roll call) before the Mayor agreed it was a tie. That’s when he said he voted to advance it.
Strong testimony by public with many good ideas suggested:
There was strong testimony delivered by many residents tonight, and some of it deserves further discussion in a follow-on blog entry. The full meeting with the public testimony can be viewed here.
Councilmember Carmen Rivera properly questioned the Mayor’s calling of a three-three split a win for advancing the vacation request. Councilmembers Rivera, Van, and O’Halloran had voted no. The Mayor then voted yes to break the tie to advance it. It advances the issue to writing an ordinance, but the ordinance requires four votes to pass.
Author’s note: I’m confident that both City and School District attorneys will be reading this blog entry, and I encourage them to correct me if I’m mistaken in my understanding of Washington State Law on these issues. You can leave a comment here on this blog entry, or contact me at my first and last name at gmail dot com, or phone me at 425-271-6913 and leave a message.
Randy Corman
Ben Johnson
Marcie Palmer
Maggie
