The Plans
Click on the link above to see the South side building design proposal.
There are other building designs that were developed and considered by the Anchorage School District. Each design has different pros and cons. In April the Anchorage School District picked a South side building design and then solicited proposals from contractors in May. The South Addition Community Council, Anchorage traffic department, and adjacent neighbors were not asked for input until September.
Click on the link above to see the full range of designs that the Building Design Committee considered, and then briefly reconsidered at the December 2, 2021 meeting with the reconstituted committee. After the December 2nd committee meeting, the Anchorage School District decided to proceed with the South side building design. The two committee members elected by the South Addition Community Council objected as there had not been a full enough discussion of their concerns within the committee.
Looking NW showing the grade on the northern side of the school grounds that would easily allow a two story building to be constructed there (L. Epstein photo)
The shadows from a school on the South site will affect most of the playground and parts of the surrounding neighborhood during large portions of the school year.
Looking NW showing Inlet View school in the only unshaded portion of the grounds on 1/2/21, 3:06 pm (L. Epstein photo)
Traffic, Parking, and Walking Concerns
The new location would change traffic flow, routing much more traffic up the often icy 13th St. exit from the neighborhood. Here is a list of traffic, parking, and walking concerns raised by neighborhood residents:
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Traffic backups on Inlet Place during school pickup will make exiting the neighborhood more difficult than at present for residents that live south of the school on approximately 20 blocks (roughly 13th to 15th Ave., several streets south of 15th, and from L to S Sts.).
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Traffic backups from entering the neighborhood via the main entrance on 13th St., especially during the morning school arrival time.
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Traffic on M St. for drop-offs and pickups which now is a quiet cul-de-sac. Closing that school entrance would make it inconvenient for students who walk and others who walk to and use the school grounds.
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Student and neighborhood walking safety crossing L St. during morning and afternoon dropoff/pickup times and students getting to and from the school entrance passing through the parking lot and queueing lanes.
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Inlet Place and N St. are wide neighborhood streets that allow for visitor parking alongside the school. All visitor parking besides disability access parking should be eliminated as it can be accommodated on nearby streets which would increase the greenspace on the school grounds as well as the aesthetics of entering the neighborhood via its main entrance on 13th Ave. This differs from ASD’s position which puts parking onsite.
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The east-west walking path across Inlet View grounds, which is heavily used, essentially would be eliminated.
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There would be additional noise on Inlet Place from parking lot snow removal.