Seattle Hill Road changes are selfish

In response to the Monday's Herald Opinion letter, "Work on improving road must continue," something has to be said. A considerable number of residents have to pass through or go around Mill Creek daily for everything from shopping to picking up the kids at school. We all know that 132nd Street, Seattle Hill Road and 164th Street/Mill Creek Road carry very high traffic volumes and have likely surpassed their capacity. These are the only roads available for getting through and to Mill Creek for those of us living east of the city.

I've read the published Citizen Advisory Group and Mill Creek City Council meeting records and can only draw one conclusion. The council is bowing down to a few well-to-do citizens who live along Seattle Hill and the golf course in Mill Creek and making unnecessary traffic engineering changes. These changes are having the effect of making an already bad traffic situation for southeast county residents even worse.

There is no evidence that the speed limit reduction from 35 to 25 has reduced accidents as some have claimed. There is no evidence that a speed limit reduction of 10 mph reduces noise to any significant degree. Seattle Hill Road is and has been a major road in that area and now that its capacity is being fully used, the residents who decided to reside there are bothered by the noise and want to inconvenience the many commuters who have to use that route. Proposed roundabouts will only further jam up traffic on Seattle Hill and make an already painful commute more painful.

I realize that the City Council could probably care less about what residents in the unincorporated county think, but nevertheless, these recent changes along Seattle Hill Road are selfish, unnecessary and only benefit a few at the expense of many.

Mike Vafeados Snohomish