LUTHERAN QUILTERS – Members of the Quilts for Comfort Group stand between pews draped with some of the 205 quilts they made, in the Sitka Lutheran Church Tuesday. The group made the quilts for five local non-profits and one in Anchorage. The remaining quilts are sent to Lutheran World Relief which distributes them to places around the world in need, such as Ukraine, as part of Personal Care Kits. Pictured are, from left, Helen Cunningham, Kathleen Brandt,Vicki Swanson, Paulla Hardy, Kim Hunter, Linda Swanson and Sue Fleming. (Sentinel Photo by James Poulson)
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At 2:10 p.m. a man e [ ... ]
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Daily Sitka Sentinel
Panel Curbs Downtown Parking In Tourism Plan
By ARIADNE WILL
Sentinel Staff Writer
The Sitka Planning Commission voted 4-1 Wednesday to close downtown Lincoln Street to vehicles between 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. next summer on days with more than 3,000 cruise passengers in town.
Commission chairman Chris Spivey cast the dissenting vote.
The decision came after about two hours of discussion at a special meeting on the Short-Term Tourism Plan.
The vote followed a presentation by Planning Director Amy Ainslie on findings the commission has collected over the past two months.
Her presentation offered several options for downtown traffic, including making Lincoln Street pedestrian only, a partial shutdown to vehicles, and a hybrid plan.
Most of the discussion was about a partial shutdown of Sitka’s main business street.
Ainslie said that closing off one lane to cars would require more infrastructure, as it would require a median to be erected. If this option should be chosen, she said, it would make sense to leave the median up for the whole summer to save the trouble of repeatedly putting it up and taking it down.
A number of concerns about the median option were raised by commission members and by the public, such as the likelihood that people would walk on both sides of the street anyway, and shops on one side of the street would be blocked off to shoppers on foot. Other concerns were that materials for the median wouldn’t arrive in time because of supply chain problems.
Concerns expressed about all plans, not just the median, were the loss of downtown parking and the effect on the RIDE bus service.
Ainslie said that still more conversations are to come. She said suggestions such as that the city hire people to direct traffic at the Lake and Lincoln street intersection have been noted, and will be discussed at later meetings.
To receive notice about future Short-Term Tourism Plan forums, or to submit a comment, send email planning@cityofsitka.com.
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20 YEARS AGO
March 2004
Advertisement: Tea-Licious Tea House & Bakery 315 Lincoln Street Grand Opening! Freshly Baked Scones, Cakes & Pastries Innovative Salads, Soups & Sandwiches Harney & Sons Tea. Lunch * Afternoon Tea * Supper.
50 YEARS AGO
March 1974
Photo caption: National Republican Chairman George Bush takes a drink of water offered by Jan Craddick, Sitka delegate, during the Republican convention held here. Mrs. Craddick explained to Bush that the water was from Indian River, which means, according to local legend, that he will return.
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