This is the text of comments from Marianne Lincoln’s presentation on Ordinance 2013-36s to the Pierce County Council.

July 23, 2013

Pierce County Council:

My name is Marianne Lincoln. I am the editor of the Pierce Prairie Post.com and current President of the Spanaway Community Association. When I graduated from high school, my mother was President of the Frederickson Clover Creek Community Council. I believe for at least six years.

Connecting people with their communities and working to make communities liable is in my blood.
I decided to speak on this issue to say I am certain this proposal will go through.

James Hardie is a good Company with a great product that is very useful to the building and remodeling industries. Even the home I currently live in has Hardie siding.

I have one concern that I most certainly hope you address and that is pedestrian access. People on foot should be allowed a way to go East without first going west.

My other concerns are more general. This is a precedent setting measure. Closing an existing road is not an option I want to see any businesses using. This should be an incredibly rare occurrence. That is the reason so much attention was paid to this particular instance.

There is an insufficient inventory of roadways in the south Pierce county area. We have far too many places where we cannot get people from here to there without saying turn left, then turn right, the turn left, ad infinitum. There are far too many cul-de-sacs and far too few through streets. There are even fewer alternate routes and almost no alleys. A detour can send people 5 to 25 miles out of their way. That’s no simple expense when a highway is closed for half a year.

The six year road plan in Pierce County has roads on it for 30 years that have not happened.

So I wish to insert a strong note of caution in this agreement today that it never be a route quickly travelled or lightly awarded.

The people of south Pierce County have been patient, mostly because they are thrifty and don’t like paying property taxes. But they certainly appreciate when a road is widened. Although – it seems to take years after the county already let the houses be built.

Move forward, but stay cautious. Keep the process difficult and inclusive.

Thank you.
Marianne Lincoln