Support the Missing Link

We, the undersigned, request that the appellants: Ballard Oil, Salmon Bay Sand and Gravel, the BINMIC Action Committee, the North Seattle Industrial Association, and especially the Ballard Chamber of Commerce drop their complaint regarding the Missing Link project on the Burke-Gilman Trail.

- The Burke-Gilman Trail is lauded as a regional commuter and recreational route. Businesses and residents want more transportation choices to move everyone through this corridor.

- Residents of Ballard have said in the neighborhood plans that they want the trail completed through the neighborhood, connecting residents to jobs, shopping and cultural amenities. The project will safely separate pedestrians and bicyclists from industrial traffic.

- Appellants have said in public they will stop at nothing to prevent the trail from being completed.

- The appellants repeatedly claim the trail will put them out of business, despite the fact that even Salmon Bay Sand & Gravel has moved some operations adjacent to the existing trail without incident.

- Dozens of bicyclists are seriously injured each year on the infamous railroad tracks underneath the Ballard Bridge. The appellants now threaten an injunction to stop the city from reorganizing the tracks for better safety.

The false conflict presented between fishermen and bicyclists is a red herring. All evidence given suggests that the city acted in good faith, working with every business along the route. Further delay will not only waste hundreds of thousands of staff hours and taxpayer dollars, but result in more needless injury and suffering.