Why does the Seattle Times hate Seattle?
People who own downtown real estate in the viaduct’s shadow suddenly would gain an equity-boosting view of Elliott Bay. The poor plebe’s view of the bay — that jaw-dropping, soul-raising drive on the viaduct — would be lost. People would sit longer in traffic everywhere and pay more for the honor of it.
Meanwhile Gov. Christine Gregoire has a less-lofty but more-pragmatic mission — replacing existing traffic capacity with a safe, affordable alternative — and a broader constituency, the whole state. Already, at least two far-flung newspapers, in Vancouver and Spokane, have editorialized in support of the governor’s position, urging Seattle to get over its costly fantasy and let the elevated option proceed.
Let me just say — and I mean this in the most respectful way possible — that I couldn’t give a flying fuck what editorial boards in Vancouver and Spokane have to say about their vision for Seattle.
Apparently, having worn out its own credibility, Times editiorial board members like Kate Riley are now reduced to citing editorial boards at far-flung newspapers to support their arguments. But then, editorialists in Spokane and Vancouver probably have as much affinity for and knowledge of our city as Riley, whose most “soul-raising” experience of Seattle comes from driving through it at 60 miles-per-hour.