At least 10 mayors across the Eastside in King County are asking King County Executive Dow Constantine to reconsider a proposal to close waste transfer stations in Renton and Houghton and rely on one that is being rebuilt in Factoria.
It would be the only transfer station in Northeast King County.
"So it adds to the traffic, but also people who want to use those transfer services have to drive for those services and sit in that traffic," said Bellevue Mayor Claudia Balducci.
Right now, there are eight transfer stations in King County in Factoria, Houghton, Bow Lake, Enumclaw, Algona, Renton, Shoreline and Vashon.
In King County's transfer Plan Review Part 2, it proposes closing waste transfer stations in Renton and Houghton.
"I pay a lot of money in taxes, and I expect that some services would be provided by the county. and this is one of them. It's a pretty basic service," said Glenn Risdon, who drops off recycling at the Renton Transfer Station every week.
"It's hard to understand how we could accept all this growth and say we're not going to allow for the possibility that we increase the demand for transfer station for our trash," said Balducci.
She's concerned that consolidating the transfer stations to using only the Factoria one when it opens in a year could create lines of traffic on Southeast 32nd Street, spilling into nearby roads.
"Think what Chick-fil-A did to our traffic and imagine that with garbage trucks," said Balducci.
The county says the plan is still only a draft and that it will be finalized by June 30. The county says the King County Council is expected to vote on the plan a few months after that.
Calls to King County Councilmember Jane Hague were not returned.
KIRO
