A few points about the stimulus grants. One of the key requirements for a project to get funding was that it had to be ready to go to bid. Mercer Street is. South Park Bridge is not.

The two projects were not pitted against each other because South Park didn't meet the requirements. If Mercer wasn’t in the running, that money still wouldn’t have gone to South Park. It's unfortunate that it gets portrayed as neighborhood v. neighborhood.

And Mercer is about much more than car commuters. For the first time, that section of Mercer will include bike lanes and sidewalks. It is a project with strong support from bike advocates. It will also allow transit to add stops in the area, one of the most under-served parts of the city core.

There was a great public process that led up to Mercer being able to get funding. There were stakeholder groups and public meetings and help from organized labor, all the arts groups at Seattle Center and much more.

We all—the city and the county—need to take the model that finally got Mercer funded after nearly 50 years of complaining about it and put that to work to get South Park what it needs, as well as other parts of Seattle.

I am very disappointed for the people of King County that our application for federal stimulus funding to replace the South Park Bridge was not approved.

While the bridge competed against a lot of other worthy projects, replacing this key transportation link is imperative to the economic health of affordable, diverse neighborhoods and the hundreds of industrial businesses that depend on direct vehicular access to State Route 99 and Interstate 5. It may not be a glamorous or high-profile project, but it’s one that is vitally important to our economy and our society.

I am determined to pursue funding for this project through future TIGER grant cycles, the jobs bill, other federal appropriations, and the state Legislature.