Inlet View Elementary School is an important neighborhood asset for the homes west of New Sagaya and north of Westchester Lagoon. The residences surrounding the school have been upgraded since the 1950s with the school’s location in mind. The school playground is in the sun most of the year. The school traffic pattern works well, with the neighborhood’s three entrances and wide streets allowing traffic to disperse quickly. There is no onsite parking other than for school staff resulting in extra greenspace for the community. The main entrance to the neighborhood on West 13th Avenue leads to the school’s sled hill.
Should Anchorage School District’s troubling plan for the school rebuild be approved by the Urban Design Commission, however, the neighborhood context and the school’s playground, traffic, and green space would be significantly degraded. And the main entrance into the neighborhood would lead, sadly, to a giant parking lot and a dirty snow pile.
This is a bad school rebuild design. The UDC should require the school to be rebuilt on the north side of the lot, the location of the existing school. Please see www.friendsofives.org for more information.
— Lois Epstein
Anchorage
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