The price of progress: Neighbors forced to move for bridge construction | Community Spirit

Many South Park residents continue to support the replacement bridge while King County ensures the project is “shovel ready.” But community members have also noticed something that has been lost through the construction: their neighbors. 

Michael Waters, who lives on Rose Street just west of the old South Park Bridge, had to say goodbye to two of his neighbors after the county purchased their property to use as staging for the new bridge. Waters couldn’t give me explicit details, but he told me about Belvin, a man in his 70’s who suffered from cancer when he had to move to another part of South Park. Then there’s “Mechanic Bob,” a man he says graciously repaired any neighbors car at a price they could afford. Cheap car repairs in the neighborhood came to be known as “Bob jobs.”

“(Bob) was a huge asset, when your car breaks down you usually have to figure out how to get it towed somewhere,” Waters said. “Bob was just right there, he would come to my driveway and work on my cars. Where else can you get that kind of service?”

Bob now lives in Aberdeen. He wouldn’t take our call, Waters said he didn’t want to “revisit the experience,” but confirmed that he didn’t want to leave South Park and said he was “forced to move.”   

“I take issue with forcing families to move and destroying usable buildings before we even know it's necessary,” Waters said. “But alas, the God of being 'shovel ready' must be appeased.”

King County Road Engineer Paulette Norman told me that the county wants to be as prepared as possible so that construction of the new bridge can begin as soon as funding comes in. The purchased properties will be used to demolish the old South Park Bridge, for shoreline restoration and for staging in constructing the new bridge. Approximately $95 milllion has been dedicated to the south Park Bridge replacement, and the county has applied for the Tiger II grant to cover the remaining costs of the $130 million project. Grant winners should be announced in October.

South Park has also lost a piece of its history: The County Line. On Monday morning the old County Line, a bar and music venue, was demolished.

 “It was shocking when I came to work and it was in rubble,” said South Park resident Lora Suggs. “It was just such an integral part of what South Park looked like to me.”

Weeks ago, a Teriyaki shop at South Sullivan Street and Dallas Avenue South was demolished and a temporary dog park was installed on county-owned property.