Originally published 5/27/2013
To really measure the environmental impact of a project, you have to look at what it replaces. When you compare the before and after, side by side, you can see the true impact on environmental factors such as: population density, number of cars, street parking, stormwater runoff, air flow, noise and light.
The spreadsheet below describes what exists on this property now and how each of these elements will change if this project is built. All items in red type indicate ways that this project will have a negative environmental impact as compared with what is there today. Note in particular how many more cars will be parked on the street and the amount of stormwater runoff this project is expected to create. Stormwater runoff is the #1 source of pollution in Puget Sound.
To see how these impacts could have been mitigated, take a look at the Sustainable Alternative to the Alki 11.