Topline: Highland Park Action Committee jail-sites meeting

| Highland Park | West Seattle jail sites | West Seattle news | West Seattle politics

Just back from Highland Park, where more than 100 people gathered to declare themselves ready to fight the possibility that a city jail might be built on one of two sites in southeast West Seattle. They heard from a city project representative as well as a communications consultant assigned to the project, and one revelation that raised eyebrows was that the city apparently had not yet mapped out the proximity of schools to the four finalist sites (the other two are in the north end). We’ll be overlaying the location of the nearest schools onto our Google map of the two WS sites for the full report on this meeting coming up later tonight in a separate post.

cc May 19, 2008 (10:29 pm)

WSB, Thank you for coming to our neighborhood meeting. Your presence and coverage is so appreciated. I think I speak for all of the Highland Park residents when I say thank you and you rock!!! As do all of the residents that showed up tonite this is a great first step in coming together to organize ourselves.

Dina Johnson May 20, 2008 (8:40 am)

Yes, thanks for WSB attention on this matter.

The meeting made it clear that HP residents are upset about this jail proposal, and plan to oppose it using every avenue possible.

An emergency HP Action Committee meeting is in TWO WEEKS:
Monday, June 2nd, 7pm
Highland Park Improvement Club
1101 SW Holden St.

At that meeting we will announce and discuss organized plans to oppose to the jail.

I am building the community’s CITY JAIL PROPOSAL RESPONSE webpage now and will add responses as I receive them. I urge interested parties to communicate their views, to be posted on the Highland Park Action Committee website: highlandpk.net.
Email: blair@highlandpk.net .

TM May 20, 2008 (4:18 pm)

It was clear that the city has other alternative sites available, but it choosing not to look at them further because of reasons that are not of public knowledge. There are city-owned properties on the other side of the river that are further away from schools and parks than the HP site. The city appears to only be considering a 7-acre site rather than a high-rise solution, thereby severely limiting their search area. The bridges would be further congested with thousands of additional cars on the roadways. This is not only a HP problem, but a West Seattle problem.

d May 21, 2008 (7:35 am)

Dina –

You should probably take immediate notice and correct ASAP the address which is posted on your comment above and on the website and probably many other places.

You are posting the wrong address for the Highland Park Improvement Club.

The correct address is:

1116 SW Holden St

NOT 1101.

Sorry, comment time is over.