March 14, 2016

Honorable Mike OBrien, Chair

Sustainability and Transportation Committee
Seattle City Council
600 Fourth Avenue
Seattle, Washington 98104

Re:

Concerns with Petition to Vacate a Portion of Occidental Avenue South

Dear Councilmember OBrien,

We are writing to urge your rejection of the Seattle Department of Transportations (SDOT)
recommendation to vacate a portion of Occidental Avenue S. and support retaining and growing middleclass jobs supported by our citys maritime and industrial core.
The Northwest Seaport Alliance (NWSA) is a marine-cargo operating partnership of the Port of Seattle
and Port of Tacoma. Managing $77 billion annually in activity and regionally supporting approximately
48,000 jobs, the NWSA promotes a resilient transportation system that supports all modes of travel for
both people and goods. As you know, the NWSAs ability to compete globally depends upon the fast
and efficient movement of cargo through our harbors.
SDOTs recommendation to vacate Occidental fails to consider the full range of negative impacts that
removing capacity will have on Port operations, transit, existing sports facilities, Seattle commuters, the
maritime industry and the broader SODO business, manufacturing and industrial district. Removing
capacity would be risky to the overall health of the transportation system.
Occidental serves several important functions: it relieves 1st and Atlantic intersection congestion,
reduces intermittent delays at the South Holgate Street railroad crossing by providing access to Atlantic
Street and SR-519, facilitates emergency vehicle mobility, and serves as access to the Mariners stadium
garage as well as local businesses. Freight traffic on 1st Avenue S, 4th Avenue S, Holgate and other
east/west streets relies indirectly on this capacity, as can be seen by vehicles using Occidental when
congestion sets in. Occidental today carries approximately ten percent of the volume of 1st Avenue S
south of the Atlantic Street intersection, serving as an important relief valve.

P.O. Box 2985 | Tacoma, WA 98401-2985 | 800-657-9808

The Northwest Seaport Alliance is a marine-cargo operating partnership of the Port of Seattle and Port of Tacoma.

Privatizing a public right of way is a very serious decision. After decades of multi-jurisdictional and multimodal support for transportation mobility system-wide, we find ourselves in serious disagreement with
the Citys proposal to add the conflicting use of another stadium in an already constrained area. Despite
the Citys commitment to increase capacity and mobility for all, we are dismayed by the Citys finding
that a proposed permanent reduction in system capacity has no impact to the SODO freight system.
Beyond our specific transportation concerns, we believe the vacation and related development will
harm the productivity of Seattles maritime and industrial core an important source of good familywage jobs for the region. Those long-term, stable jobs should not be put at risk for the short-term
construction jobs associated with construction of a SODO arena. We should be seeking ways to grow
these sectors of employment, not add barriers to maintaining them. We enthusiastically support
bringing the NBA and NHL to our region and pledge to work with our partners towards siting a new
arena in a more appropriate location. When the City of Seattle is experiencing a loss of critical middleclass jobs and given no immediate prospect for a new sports team to occupy the proposed arena, we
believe vacating Occidental Avenue S at this time is both harmful and premature.
We look forward to working with you and other members of the Seattle City Council through the new
lens of our exciting joint venture of the Northwest Seaport Alliance. Within the NWSA and with key
partners such as the City of Seattle, we are committed to a sustainable partnership on behalf of the
citizens of the entire region.

Sincerely,

Commissioner Constance T. Bacon

NWSA Managing Member
President, Port of Tacoma Commission

Commissioner John W. Creighton III

NWSA Managing Member
President, Port of Seattle Commission

Commissioner Donald C. Johnson

NWSA Managing Member
Port of Tacoma Commission

Commissioner Tom Albro

NWSA Managing Member
Port of Seattle Commission

Commissioner Richard P. Marzano

NWSA Managing Member
Port of Tacoma Commission

Commissioner Stephanie Bowman

NWSA Managing Member
Port of Seattle Commission

Commissioner Donald G. Meyer

NWSA Managing Member
Port of Tacoma Commission

Commissioner Fred Felleman

NWSA Managing Member
Port of Seattle Commission

Commissioner Clare Petrich

NWSA Managing Member
Port of Tacoma Commission

Commissioner Courtney Gregoire

NWSA Managing Member
Port of Seattle Commission

Cc:

Councilmember Bagshaw
Councilmember Burgess
Councilmember Gonzlez
Councilmember Harrell
Councilmember Herbold
Councilmember Johnson
Councilmember Juarez
Councilmember Sawant
Mayor Ed Murray
SDOT Director Scott Kubly