Mayor Law, City Council members and Alex Pietsch,

Sincere thanks to the city for giving us the beautiful “Piazza” for us to relax and enjoy.

You allowed small apartment buildings in downtown; this is good.

But I must admit I am worried about our city.

The peace and beauty of the Piazza was taken from us when the transit center and a seven-story parking garage wrapped itself around two sides of this area.

I feel sorry for the residents of the apartments, which were constructed and rented just before the transit center and garage went up. Their view is the parking garage and transit center.

The apartments have small balconies but who could breath the air out there?

Why aren’t we trying to make our city pedestrian-friendly like Portland, where people actually want to live in the central city?

The buses spew diesel pollutants into the air and heaven help anyone with the slightest lung condition who might be trying to relax there or just pass through.

Transients, people up to no good with no job, nowhere to go and nothing to do, ride the buses and find our community, when they might just have passed us by.

There have been incidents of terrible violence, the publicity is enough to scare people away.

How is the city dealing with this bad press – they lay off security that patrolled the area on bikes – brilliant move.

The transit center is exactly that, a place where people are in transit.

The transit center should have been where The Landing is.

Why wasn’t it put there?

Was it about money again? Large stores could bring in more tax dollars?

People are not coming here to wile away the hours in our quaint shops and beautifully landscaped avenues, because there aren’t any.

Now you want to move our library downtown, to try and bring life into the area.

Sorry, it’s too late. It is already dead, and you can all claim credit for it.

You are driving our citizens out of the town center through your planning. Or was there ever a plan?

If you want people to walk in the town center there needs to be a place for them to want to go, tree-lined streets with places to promenade, not diesel spewing buses and thugs.

You have never listened to your residents and this is the result.

Surprise!

Nicola Robinson

Renton