Let’s not destroy the best thing ever in the city, the library over the river | Letter to the editor

I was quite taken aback with the two Letters to the Editor that appeared in the June 29, 2012, Renton Reporter – amazed with some of the statements that completely overlooked the truth of the positive aspects of our present Cedar River library location.

July 13, 2012 11:00 am

I was quite taken aback with the two Letters to the Editor that appeared in the June 29, 2012, Renton Reporter – amazed with some of the statements that completely overlooked the truth of the positive aspects of our present Cedar River library location. In Mr. Dineen’s letter, he states that the “new” site (west of the Piazza) would have better parking than our present Cedar River location. Huh? I wonder if Mr. Dineen has gone down and counted the parking spaces at our present library site, as I have. If he had, he would have found 65 parking spaces right next to our present library. Besides these spaces, there’s overflow parking available immediately next door to our library in front of the former Renton City Hall. You can’t beat this convenience no matter how anyone wants to spin the facts. I can’t think of a mother or other child-concerned person wanting to park in the parking garage, if need be, and walking their children  two or three blocks to go to the library, when all they have to do, is park next to our current library and walk the short distance to enter the library.

Our remodeled library over the Cedar River WILL BE a state-of-the-art edifice and we all will delight in the new updated version of our present library, when it is completed, and code-compliant. It will be worth the wait to save this most wonderful site for our library. Not many people know that the C-span media bus visited Renton in April 2011 – and parked in the parking lot at our Cedar River Library-Renton specifically chosen BECAUSE we have this “only one in the country” library built over a river. Now that’s an accolade for our city that no other can claim.

Finally, we who desire the Cedar River Library for the location of our new library, DO want the downtown business core to prosper and thrive. But, giving up the best location for our library is not the way to do it. An arts center has been suggested for the old Big Five site–the creative energy that such an entity would bring to the downtown, would definitely be a draw for people to come to the downtown core, and enjoy something extraordinary and stimulating for Rentonites. But let’s not destroy the best thing we ever had – this gem of the Cedar River Library.

Judy Tabak

Renton