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Neighborhood Council Challenges Safeway Building Permit in Greenwood
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"The city shouldn't allow developers to run over the neighborhoods," says Mike McGinn, president of the Greenwood Community Council. According to McGinn, the council is appealing building permits recently issued to Safeway, for construction of a new store and parking garage at N 87th Street and Greenwood Avenue N. He adds, "The impact on the neighborhood is going to be horrendous.
"Cars are going to turn left out of the parking garage at 87th and Evanston and cut through the neighborhood to get to Aurora, or down to 85th," McGinn says. "There are already 3,500 cars a day using those residential streets. Normal daily traffic on residential streets is 500 to 1,000 cars. And the new Safeway [will be] half again as big as the one they are replacing."
He points out, "There are no curbs on N 87th Street, so cars park right up to the edges of the yards, and pedestrians are forced into the street. It's extremely dangerous."
The community council wants Safeway to route traffic out to Greenwood Avenue, and to provide traffic-calming devices in the adjacent residential streets.
Safeway officials did not return calls to The Seattle Press.
Fred Meyer Expansion Opposed
The Greenwood Community Council is also looking for ways to discourage Fred Meyer from adding a grocery operation to its department store on NW 85th Street. Fred Meyer is reportedly close to a deal to acquire the Greenwood Thriftway building at NW 85th and 3rd Avenue NW.
"Greenwood doesn't need a big-box store that will attract a lot of cars," says council president Mike McGinn, "and we don't need two big economy-priced supermarkets, Safeway and Fred Meyer, within two blocks of each other."
Fred Meyer spokesperson Rob Boley says, "Our customers have been asking us to open a food department at the 85th Street store," but added that plans are still in the very early stages, and nothing is definite.
Just two years ago the chain opened a large grocery/department store in Fremont, but according to Boley, "It's not unusual to have two large stores so close to each other. Each store is geared to serve its neighborhood."
"We'll sponsor a neighborhood workshop when we have a plan," Boley said. "Whatever we do would have to fit in with other developments in that area."
Greenwood activist Kate Martin predicts substantial community opposition to a Fred Meyer expansion. She says, "They've made a bad call here. Haven't they looked at our Neighborhood Plan? What we need in Greenwood is pedestrian-friendly development, trees, walkways and stores you walk to instead of drive to. If they go ahead with these plans, they're going to be very sorry they did."
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| Kris | Sep 06, 2003 | Crown Hill | |
| I'll won't be happy with Fred Meyer if they take over Greenwood Market. | |||
