Washblog

--while the tunnel is being constructed, why not divert it forever?

by eridani on Wed Aug 05, 2009 at 02:30:22 PM PST

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Didn't we already vote NO on the tunnel? How'd the worst available option became the de facto solution?

No. Seattle voters rejected a cut and cover tunnel in 2007, which is what that advisory vote was about. It's probably as well they did... the cut and cover was ultimately not a feasible solution.

The deep bore tunnel is completely different:

A cut-and-cover tunnel would require digging a giant trench along the waterfront, creating a traffic nightmare for local businesses that could last several years. The deep-bore tunnel would be drilled beneath First Avenue and likely allow the viaduct to remain in place until the project is finished. Advocates also say it doesn't have the safety problems of the proposal rejected by voters.

Talk to folks at the Port, and they'll tell you there needs to be a limited access route through Seattle that is not called Interstate 5.

The point has been made that tearing down the Alaskan Way Viaduct and not replacing it would reduce the number of trips. Here's the problem: Some people will still have to get to their jobs. Freight will still need to be moved through the city. By killing one of the two uninterrupted paths through Seattle, we turn Interstate 5 into a collector road.

Anyone who understands urban planning knows that collector roads are the bane of suburban neighborhoods. When there is only one way to get in and out of a place, traffic nightmares ensue. We need this tunnel not because highways are good, but because relying on one major road to carry all thru traffic is a recipe for disaster. Mike McGinn's plan to kill the tunnel also includes widening I-5... have you heard? That simply will not work. Widening I-5 would be a total, massive waste of money. The cost overruns could be worse than the tunnel. People would be forced to lose their homes. And what about the convention center? Do we tear that apart?

Yes, the tunnel will cost plenty, but it's ultimately a smart infrastructure investment. Nobody whines today about constructing the Mount Baker Tunnels for Interstate 90. It was a wise decision then just like the deep bore tunnel is a wise decision now.

Northwest Progressive Institute

by nwprogressive on Wed Aug 05, 2009 at 02:44:24 PM PST

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You mean like public will on the monorail? You mean like on that RICH PIG WELFARE PROJECT known as Safeco Field, or Paulie's Playground next door, that we-the-peee-ons are so blessed to be paying for?

Do you mean a 2009 DEMOCRATIC Legislature and Governor folding like cheap tents before the howls and blasts of ronnie raygan & time eyeman?

BTW - for us 1,759,000/2,382,000 housholds living on under $75,000 in the state of WA

How about take EVERY manager making over $50,000 working in education, transportation, and housing - AND FIRE ALL OF THEM?

Let 'em go work with their private sector geniuses at AIG or GM or Enron or Merrill or WAMU.

The tunnel makes perfect sense in our Mad Hatter politics.

rmm.

http://www.liemail.com/BambooGrassroots.html

by rmdSeaBos on Wed Aug 05, 2009 at 03:18:18 PM PST

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did the voters vote against an entirely different tunnel proposal, but they also voted against an entirely different funding mechanism for the baseball stadium than the one the Legislature approved.

It's very disappointing to read, after all these years, the same old tired BS. The tunnel that will be built is NOT the same tunnel that voters voted against, just as the baseball stadium was built with entirely different funding (statewide) than the funding the voters rejected (countywide).  

I wish the tunnel had an additional lane in each direction, and entrances and exits downtown. But whereas the Viaduct will remain in place during construction -- Hey, who knows? It could take another 20 years -- the tunnel is the best alternative, and it should put to an end this ceaseless bickering (or so I hope).

I refuse to take seriously anyone who still holds out for the moonbat "surface option," just as I refuse to take seriously anyone who still holds that we would have been better served by fixing the Kingdome.
 

If perception is reality, then the world must be flat and the sun must revolve around it.

by ivan on Thu Aug 06, 2009 at 06:16:17 AM PST

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design - that when the citizens voted against the other tunnel, and the rebuild, the Discovery Institute's Cascadia Project presented an alternative tunnel design which was not part of the original 3 designs approved by the WA State DOT.  

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by jhon on Wed Apr 27, 2011 at 12:09:52 AM PST

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