Neighbors have traffic worries about building

By Adam Wilson | The Olympian • Published February 26, 2008

With three major new state office buildings going up next door, residents of the South Capitol neighborhood asked a lot of questions Tuesday night, most of them about traffic.

The $260 million project will fill an 8-acre site at the eastern edge of Olympia's Capitol Campus. Scheduled for completion in two years, the buildings will host an estimated 1,175 workers, while a new underground garage will hold 800 cars.

Just across tree-lined Maple Lane is a historic residential neighborhood.

About 45 residents attended a meeting with state officials and contracted designers Tuesday.

"I think they have done a lot of homework. There's no way to solve everything about traffic; that's not going to happen in the South Capitol neighborhood," said Roger Polzin, a retired state worker who lives a block from the development.

He and other neighbors were interested in a study being conducted that will tell designers how to handle the increased traffic.

The study is expected to be finished within three weeks.

The new offices likely will add 350 to 400 cars to that area each morning and evening, said Justin Jones of Parametrix, the company conducting the traffic study.

In June

But with construction scheduled to start in June in what is now a parking lot scattered with small offices, that doesn't leave much time for the public to comment.

Some residents asked questions about the look and design of the buildings, but most were concerned with how the increase in workers could lead to an increase in cars going through their neighborhood.

They noted that state workers already flood out of the Plaza Garage into the intersection of 14th Avenue and Jefferson Street at the end of each workday.

The buildings will hold the Department of Information Services, the Washington State Patrol and a data center for the states huge computer systems.

Adam Wilson covers state workers and politics for The Olympian. He can be reached at 360-753-1688 or awilson@theolympian.com.