An open house held by the Anchorage Metropolitan Area Transportation Solutions, or AMATS, turned out public testimony that was almost unanimously against several large capital projects in the Municipality.
As AMATS staff and local officials develop an interim plan to stay within federal compliance standards they took comments from area residents on transportation projects. Members of the public spoke about several road improvement projects and bike lanes, but focused overwhelmingly on criticisms of the proposed Knik Arm Bridge and Bragaw Extension into the U-Med District.
Advocacy groups like Citizens for Responsible Development and community council members from the neighborhoods in the areas around proposed projects mobilized in advance of the hearing, holding a short rally ahead of time outside Anchorage City Hall.
AMATS is pursuing a short-term update to it’s transportation strategy in advance of a major rewrite in the year ahead, when it drafts a new comprehensive plan with an outlook for 2040.
Zachariah Hughes reports on city & state politics, arts & culture, drugs, and military affairs in Anchorage and South Central Alaska.
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