Replacing the Alaskan Way Viaduct will affect Shoreline and other communities north of Seattle for generations.
You need a say in the choice, because your time and money are at stake.
More gridlock, anyone?
How might the choice affect your time? Well, one proposal would replace today’s fast, elevated highway with a surface street clogged with 26 stop lights and a 30 mile per hour speed limit.
SR-99 could become a transportation nightmare instead of a viable alternative to I-5. That would add yet more cars on I-5 and make our state’s main highway even slower.
It would also hurt businesses by making it harder to get local goods to customers or attract Seattle customers to local stores.
Another Big Dig?
Some planners want to replace the Viaduct with a tunnel. But the potential costs are truly scary.
I’m skeptical about the supposed $1.9 to $3.5 billion price tag for a tunnel. Tunneling through a waterlogged landfill is filled with expensive unknowns — especially since much of Seattle’s waterfront is built on the “old Seattle” that fire destroyed in 1889.
This is eerily similar to the Big Dig in Boston. Supporters claimed the Big Dig would cost $2.6 billion. The actual cost is hitting $22 billion (with interest) due to geological barriers, buried buildings, leaks and other nasty surprises.
Suburban Boston commuters recently learned they may soon pay $250 to $500 more each year in tolls to pay off Big Dig maintenance and debt. The state gas tax may also be hiked.
I don’t think we can afford the risks of a Seattle Big Dig when so many transportation and other priorities need funding.
A better option: Waterfront Parkway
Does any option for replacing the Viaduct work well for us? Yes.
For example, the Waterfront Parkway option blends strong features of many alternatives.
This option has a four-lane elevated highway with transit options, such as dedicated bus/HOV lanes, to move people and goods quickly to and through Seattle — with good access to places like Pike Place Market and Safeco Field. It would enclose the highway, which means less noise pollution and toxic runoff into Puget Sound.
The Waterfront Parkway would also open up the waterfront. It would create space for a vibrant waterfront promenade with no cars and be topped by a mile-long public park with spectacular views of Puget Sound and the Olympic mountains. New shopping, dining and entertainment opportunities would be created below the highway.
Importantly, the Waterfront Parkway is among the most affordable of the Viaduct replacement options.
Stand up and speak out
It’s not too late to have your say. Visit the Viaduct Web site (http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/viaduct) and tell decision-makers what you think.
You can make your views heard by e-mail (viaduct@wsdot.wa.gov), a toll-free hotline (1-888-AWV-LINE) or by writing the Alaskan Way Viaduct and Seawall Replacement Program, 999 Third Ave., Suite 2424, Seattle, WA 98104.
Shoreline and other communities north of Seattle will have to live with the Viaduct decision. We should make sure our perspective is heard when the decisions are made.
Ruth Kagi represents the 32nd District in the state Legislature.
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