Washington Commerce Corridor Feasibility Study - Chapter Seven - Public Comment

Washington Commerce Corridor Feasibility Study CHAPTER SEVEN PUBLIC COMMENT INTRODUCTION This feasibility study concerns an area of almost 2,297 square miles that stretches from Vancouver, Washington in the South to Sumas, Washington in the North. Nine state counties lie in this alignment, as well as numerous cities, towns and villages. Millions of people live within the scope of the study, and numerous more work or recreate within its bounds. Because of the great number of people who would be affected by any proposed Washington Commerce Corridor, it was deemed necessary to include a public involvement element in this feasibility study. The public involvement process included two parts: 1. Ongoing public comment received, logged, and answered by WSDOT and the consultant team; 2. Three public comment sessions held as joint information sharing/public response sessions Public response was significant for both parts of the feedback process. WSDOT and the consultant team received hundreds of phone calls and emails documenting personal reaction to the project. Though every comment was unique, it is possible to group them into major themes. This chapter summarizes the responses, notes how WSDOT and the consultant team responded to the comments, and introduces the major themes brought up by public comment. ONGOING PUBLIC COMMENT As of the time of writing this report, roughly 200 comments had been received, answered and recorded by ...