Letter: Cutting Rachel Road through Amon Creek would be damaging and costly
I have been associated with the Amon Creek Refuge issue for 10 years and attended all of the meetings/hearings on the Rachel Road extension two years ago. Here are some facts.
Hundreds of south Richland citizens worked on the preserve. Mayor Thompson was not involved in those meetings and is new to what happened.
The city said the extension was needed for a fast connection from the new Badger Mountain South development area to the “heart of Kennewick.” Videos taken of Rachel Road showed it incapable of being used for the stated mission.
Rachel Road residents showed up at that time to protest the use of their narrow, winding, 25 mph and no-passing road for the mission proposed.
New Hayden Homes residents want better connections. If they have a problem, it is with the city and Hayden Homes.
Connections currently planned/approved available are from the north/northeast, Bellerive and Meadows Drive South; west, Leslie/Broadmoor; south, Clearwater/Steptoe and the planned extension of Central Parkway (Rachel Road).
The west access could be enhanced to aid the Kennewick School District operation, but cutting Rachel straight though the Amon Preserve is probably the most damaging and costly approach to take.
Robert Benedetti, Richland
This story was originally published November 20, 2016 at 4:37 AM with the headline "Letter: Cutting Rachel Road through Amon Creek would be damaging and costly."