Hunts Point homeowners decry WSDOT's tree removal
HUNTS POINT, Wash. -- To most drivers, the 120 trees near two homes in Hunts Point were just a blur in a passing window.
For Ken Fisher, they were a sanctuary - home to blue herons, and a buffer between his family and the outside world.
"It's a town of trees, and now, when you look out, you see a superhighway," Fisher said. "It feels like the tornado blew through here and knocked all our stuff down."
The Washington State Department of Transportation began taking down the trees on May 16 as part of the 520 expansion project, according to department spokesman Jeff Switzer. On Friday, contractors used backhoes and bulldozers to clear the land just west of the area along Evergreen Point Road.
Those who live nearby say they knew of the project but didn't realize it would expose several neighborhoods, including the quiet enclave of Fairweather Bay along Lake Washington to the traffic, noise, and attention of tens of thousands of drivers each day.
"I bought a house in a private reserve. It was all treed in and I couldn't see 520 at all," said resident Jill Heijer, who has lived in her waterfront home for 13 years. "You didn't even know there was a freeway next to us, and now, everybody can look down at my house. They can see everything I'm doing."
Contractors began removing the trees to make way for the highway expansion and to build a retaining wall, WSDOT engineers said. Once the project is finished, the state hopes to replace and restore as many trees as it can, in addition to building a noise barrier.
"Our effort is to only impact and disturb as little area as we need for construction of the project," said Daniel Babuca, WSDOT's engineering design manager, "so we do acknowledge that there is an impact in terms of the loss of the trees."
Nearby residents say losing trees also means losing serenity, security, quality of life and property values. One resident likened the noise barrier and retaining wall to something "that would look like the Hoover Dam."
"It's pretty disheartening and upsetting that they're all gone now," said Fisher. "It looks horrible. Our community's been devastated now."
"It'll never been the same. I'll never have the privacy that we had, because this is all going to be open to the public now," added Heijer. "For me, that's just not what I bought."
For Ken Fisher, they were a sanctuary - home to blue herons, and a buffer between his family and the outside world.
"It's a town of trees, and now, when you look out, you see a superhighway," Fisher said. "It feels like the tornado blew through here and knocked all our stuff down."
The Washington State Department of Transportation began taking down the trees on May 16 as part of the 520 expansion project, according to department spokesman Jeff Switzer. On Friday, contractors used backhoes and bulldozers to clear the land just west of the area along Evergreen Point Road.
Those who live nearby say they knew of the project but didn't realize it would expose several neighborhoods, including the quiet enclave of Fairweather Bay along Lake Washington to the traffic, noise, and attention of tens of thousands of drivers each day.
"I bought a house in a private reserve. It was all treed in and I couldn't see 520 at all," said resident Jill Heijer, who has lived in her waterfront home for 13 years. "You didn't even know there was a freeway next to us, and now, everybody can look down at my house. They can see everything I'm doing."
Contractors began removing the trees to make way for the highway expansion and to build a retaining wall, WSDOT engineers said. Once the project is finished, the state hopes to replace and restore as many trees as it can, in addition to building a noise barrier.
"Our effort is to only impact and disturb as little area as we need for construction of the project," said Daniel Babuca, WSDOT's engineering design manager, "so we do acknowledge that there is an impact in terms of the loss of the trees."
Nearby residents say losing trees also means losing serenity, security, quality of life and property values. One resident likened the noise barrier and retaining wall to something "that would look like the Hoover Dam."
"It's pretty disheartening and upsetting that they're all gone now," said Fisher. "It looks horrible. Our community's been devastated now."
"It'll never been the same. I'll never have the privacy that we had, because this is all going to be open to the public now," added Heijer. "For me, that's just not what I bought."
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