Search Results for: viaduct

I know it’s not supposed to happen, and it’s probably not in my self-interest to admit it, but every once in a while a great idea gets generated on the Seattle Times op/ed pages. If only indirectly.

Today the Times treats its readers to two status quo editorials, one in favor of a new Sonics arena, the other opposed to replacing the Viaduct with a hybrid-tunnel. According to the Times it is a good deal for local taxpayers to fork over $400 million in extortion money to build a hoops palace in Renton, but a bad deal to spend the extra $600 million required to bury the Viaduct and reclaim our downtown waterfront. Of course, the Times editorialists grew up with an NBA franchise and an elevated freeway, and apparently if that’s good enough for them, it’s good enough for our children.

My problem is not so much with their opinions — they’re entitled to being wrong — it’s with the arguments they use to support them. For example, in opposing the tunnel the Times contends that “the average citizen’s budget … is not unlimited,” but when it comes to a $400 million giveaway to a consortium of wealthy Oklahoma City businessmen, well, there are endlessly creative ways to tap our tax base:

The bill extends taxes mostly directed at tourists who are already being used to pay for Safeco and Qwest fields, and commonly used sales-tax credits to pay for the arena.

The tax with the most impact on residents, a restaurant tax, would stop in 2015, the year it was scheduled to end. The tax has preformed well enough to retire its portion of the bond payment for Safeco Field three years early and is expected to raise $75 million for the arena in its final three years. The Washington Restaurant Association supports the tax.

Hmm. Which got me thinking.

Ignore for the moment the Times’ deceitful insistence that “the state is not on the hook for the new arena,” when in fact those “commonly used sales-tax credits” come straight out of state coffers. And overlook the bullshit support of the Restaurant Association for a tax their members don’t actually pay. (Um… we, the customers, pay it.)

For if we cut to the chase, the Times has just inadvertently articulated a brilliant plan to pay for the extra cost of the hybrid-tunnel option: simply extend those apparently painless taxes already being used to pay for Safeco and Qwest fields… and put the revenues towards the tunnel. Combined with a couple hundred million dollars raised by levying a Local Improvement District tax on those property owners who stand to profit the most from opening up the waterfront, and Mayor Nickels Seattle taxpayers can easily afford a tunnel.

The Times argues that “no acceptable plan exists for paying cost overruns on the tunnel” but Clay Bennett and his partners refuse to assume responsibility for cost overruns on their publicly-financed, privately-owned arena, so it’s really a wash. If there are cost overruns on the tunnel (and the Times ominisciently insists that “there will be”,) then we’ll just do what we’d do for the arena: extend those stadium taxes some more. Hell, we’re only taxing “tourists”, so really, what’s the big deal?

I totally agree with the Seattle Times when they argue that “this is a decision that should be made locally.” The Legislature should grant King County the authority to extend the current stadium taxes, but only if it also grants the county the authority to spend that money as its voters deem best. Now that we have a funding mechanism in place, let’s put it on the ballot and have voters decide how to spend the $400 million — an up or down vote, not between a hybrid-tunnel and an elevated freeway, but between a tunnel and a new Sonics arena.

So to my friends on the Seattle Times editorial board, I invite you to stand by your eloquent defense of local control, and join me in championing the Tunnel vs. Arena ballot measure. After all, it was your idea. Sorta.

Tonight on “The David Goldstein Show”, 7PM to 10PM on Newsradio 710-KIRO:

7PM: Rant-a-rama Bush wants more troops, Scooter wants a pardon, and Dori wants me to stop teasing his girlfriend… those and other rants tonight at 7PM.

8PM: What do sex ed, children’s healthcare and dogs in bars have in common? While Seattle focuses on the fight over the Viaduct, lot’s of legislation is being passed in Olympia. Jon Gould from the Children’s Alliance joins me to talk about a huge legislative victory, as I do a roundup of the some of this session’s most important and controversial legislation

9PM: What’s up down in Oregon? Gordon Smith tells an audience that Iraq’s top general gives a 25% chance of success… Oregon’s Legislature gets ready to pass an anti-escalation bill, while Washington squelches theirs… and the rainy day fund that wasn’t, then was, then wasn’t again, and looks like it might be after all…or not. All that and more as Blogger TJ from Loaded Orygun joins me for our monthly update on what’s going on south of the (WA) border.

Tune in tonight (or listen to the live stream) and give me a call: 1-877-710-KIRO (5476).

I was tuned in to KUOW yesterday afternoon, listening to callers explain how they intend to vote in the March 13 Viaduct advisory, and I was struck by a number of rebuild supporters who expressed the hope or belief that the final design will be substantially smaller and less obtrusive than the super-sized version that’s currently on the ballot.

I’m guessing this elevated optimism is at least partially fed by the public musings of Seattle City Council President Nick Licata, who recently told the Seattle Times that he preferred a viaduct light option “dramatically reducing the current proposed width of the structure,” and House Speaker Frank Chopp, who continues to insist that a double-decker freeway can somehow be made more elegant and attractive… by adding a third deck.

Yeah… um… except, they’re all smoking crack.

You see, we’ve been repeatedly told that the new viaduct must be substantially taller and wider than the 1950’s model, because of modern building standards, safety concerns, federal law and stuff like that, and maybe that’s true. But as the Times explained on Monday, the primary factor influencing the footprint of the new structure is the footprint of the existing structure, for in an attempt to minimize traffic disruption, WSDOT intends to build the new viaduct on top of and surrounding the old viaduct before tearing it down.

That’s right, the new viaduct must first eat the old viaduct, before it swallows the entire downtown waterfront. New columns will be built outside the footprint of the existing structure. Traffic will continue on the lower deck as the old upper deck is removed and a new upper deck is installed. Then traffic will move to the new upper deck as the old lower deck is removed and replaced. Sounds pretty clever.

A skinnier, “viaduct light” option is not possible without scrapping this construction plan, and that’s simply not going to happen. Indeed, one of the primary selling points of WSDOT’s elevated proposal has always been the three to nine month period the viaduct would be totally closed in both directions, compared to several years for a tunnel.

“One of the things this option can do, that others can’t, is keep traffic moving on Highway 99 during construction,” said David Dye, urban-corridors administrator for the state Department of Transportation (DOT). “That was a very, very important factor.”

Construction of a tunnel would close the highway completely for nearly three years.

Elevated-structure supporters such as Warren Aakervik, president of Ballard Oil, call it the only acceptable option, because it would keep fuel, parts and other goods on the move, preserving maritime business.

Sure, the whole convoluted process will take ten to twelve years, but at least it will keep “fuel, parts and other goods on the move.” And oh yeah, people too.

Or would it?

Notice what David Dye says… that this option keeps “traffic moving on Highway 99 during construction.” The revised Environmental Impact Statement uses similar language, stating “SR 99 reduced to 2 lanes in each direction” for about seven years.

WSDOT is very specific. We keep hearing that SR 99 will be reduced to 2 lanes in each direction. But they don’t necessarily say that they’ll be keeping that traffic on the viaduct.

Of course, you can’t fit four lanes on a deck that only holds three, and in fact, if you read the fine print you discover that for four to five years, only the northbound traffic actually remains on the viaduct. The southbound traffic is detoured off 99 at Broad and Denny, follows Broad to the waterfront via an elbow shaped aerial trestle, and than travels along Alaska Way until Pike Street before another aerial trestle connects back into the existing viaduct.

So, I guess you could say that two lanes of southbound SR 99 remain open… as long as you redesignate Broad Street and Alaska Way as SR 99. (And ignore the fact that during this entire time, Alaska Way is apparently reduced to one lane in each direction.)

Hmm. By this rhetorical logic, we could tear down the viaduct and build a tunnel while keeping SR 99 at three lanes in each direction, simply by designating Fourth and Second avenues as northbound and southbound SR 99 respectively. No fancy aerial trestles needed.

Despite what we’ve been repeatedly told, only two lanes of northbound 99 remain open during construction. For nearly five years, southbound traffic gets shunted onto surface streets, and that’s a fact.

Other interesting tidbits from the EIS:

• Columbia on-ramp closed for 45 months (the access point for anyone in downtown wanting to proceed south-bound on the viaduct.)
• Seneca off-ramp closed for 24 months (the access point to downtown for anyone proceeding north-bound on the viaduct.)
• Elliott on-ramps closed for 72 months (the access points in both directions for Belltown residents or Ballard, Magnolia, Interbay and West Queen Anne users who access the viaduct via 15th NW and Elliott avenue.)
• Western ramps closed for 63 months (affects northbound viaduct traffic that needs to exit to Western to access the neighborhoods listed above.)
• Alaska Way reduced to 1 lane in each direction for 10 full years.
• The entire shebang shut down in both directions, nights and weekends, for much the construction period.

Oh, and here’s one I never heard about before. SR 99 will be reduced to three lanes north of Denny — one northbound, two southbound — for 30 months. It’s not clear why, or how far north, but for those of you north of Denny who thought you’d be free from disruption, think again.

Look, no replacement option can be constructed without major disruptions, but if you believe WSDOT’s pitch that the Viaduct will continue to operate at 50-percent of capacity during the construction, then I have a bridge to sell you. Um… make that a viaduct.

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.

It’s a jam-packed schedule of inside politics and policy wonkery tonight on “The David Goldstein Show”, 7PM to 10PM on Newsradio 710-KIRO:

7PM: What’s driving Peter Steinbreuck? Seattle City Councilman Peter Steinbrueck shocked supporters this week when he announced he would forego reelection so that he could devote his energies towards opposing an elevated rebuild of the Alaska Way Viaduct. His surprise announcement also immediately raised speculation about his future political plans. Mayor? County Executive? Congress? Peter will join me in the studio for the hour to talk about the Viaduct and his future.

8PM: Is Oscar-winner Al Gore running for President? Washington insider Michael Feldman, a founding partner of the Glover Park Group and a former top aide to the former Vice President, joins me at the top of the hour to give us the inside scoop on his old boss, and how the crowded field of presidential hopefuls is shaping up. What’s the inside the beltway, DC punditocracy take on the 2008 election? Tune in and find out, then call in with your predictions and preferences of who you’d like to see facing off in the general election.

9PM: Is the state doing enough to educate foster kids? Less than two-percent of WA’s foster kids will go on to get a college degree. Less than two-percent. Reuven Carlyle, a Harvard educated high-tech entrepreneur — and former foster child — thinks we can and should do better, and has helped craft HB 1131, creating a Passport to College Promise Program that would provide outreach and scholarships to former foster youth, while providing incentives to colleges to enroll and retain these students. Reuven joins me in the studio along with Janice Avery, the founder and executive director of Treehouse, to talk about the challenges facing foster youth, and how we can do a better job preparing them for success.

Tune in tonight (or listen to the live stream) and give me a call: 1-877-710-KIRO (5476).

Liars! Liars! Liars! You guys are all liars!

City Councilman Nick Licata will be taking your questions over at the Seattle Times. Ask him about living in the PRAG house (nevermind, it’s ony viaduct questions).

Lee’s got issues with liberal bloggers writing posts about 9/11 conspiracy theories. Why, Lee? Are you a part of the conspiracy?

An update on what rural conservatives are spending your money advocating.

Does anyone know a good place to get a Reuben? I know one place, but I need to expand my Reuben universe. Put your suggestions in the comments.

Last week I publicly fretted that Governor Chris Gregoire might eventually paint herself into a rhetorical corner via public comments over replacing the Alaska Way Viaduct. I worried that the Governor’s increasingly adamant insistence that a rebuild is the only viable option could put her in the unenviable position of either defying the will of the voters, or appearing to cave to big, bad Seattle just as she prepares to head into what could be a tough reelection campaign. But in an exclusive interview with Lynn Allen of Evergreen Politics, the Governor has allayed my concerns.

[Is there] any way the surface and transit option would be entertained by the state?

Gregoire: Absolutely. We did entertain it earlier but couldn’t make it work. We have a set of criteria we have to meet. We have to maintain safety. We have to meet capacity for both moving freight and people in that corridor.

We’re not accommodating increases in capacity if we either rebuild the viaduct or build a new tunnel. There won’t be an increase in today’s capacity. It’s now somewhere in the neighborhood of 110,000 per day.

So, no matter what we do, we still have to maximize transit and surface. No matter what happens, there has to be a comprehensive transit component. We will need to be able to increase the capacity for moving the increase in population we are expecting.

Then, too, what we decide to do has to be fiscally responsible and friendly to urban design.

That’s why we’re working with Ron Sims. The state is saying, “Show me what you’re talking about here”. We’d like to see what the possibilities are.

As HA co-blogger Will points out, Gov. Gregoire appears to contradict herself in her use of the word “capacity” — but that’s the sort of verbal nitpicking I choose to reserve for Republicans. Taken as a whole, and in the context of the entire debate, the Governor is clearly leaving the door open to a surface solution. And I tend to agree with David Postman that this interview is entirely consistent with her prior statements, representing at most a clarification rather than a shift in position.

The Governor has repeatedly drawn a line in the sand, demanding that any Viaduct replacement must maintain capacity, a criterion some have supposed to rule out a surface alternative. But the key to accepting the surface option as both a transportation and political compromise rests on how we define the word “capacity.” WSDOT’s Environmental Impact Statement describes the purpose of the project as one that “maintains or improves mobility and accessibility for people and goods” — language the Governor clearly echoes in talking to Lynn about capacity.

As I wrote last week:

Hard-nosed rebuild supporters have mocked King County Executive Ron Sims as some kind of enviro-whacko hippie for stating that we should be focused on moving people, not cars — but that’s exactly the stated purpose put forth in the EIS. And that’s exactly the language the Governor needs, to join former tunnel supporters in support of a surface compromise.

It’s not a matter of redefining the word capacity — “mobility” was always the definition from the start, and accepting an alternative that improves mobility, while perhaps decreasing vehicle capacity, is perfectly consistent with Gov. Gregoire’s line in the sand.

That is what the Governor essentially told Lynn — she is focused on moving “freight and people,” and she is willing to work with Ron Sims “to see what the possibilities are.” I had been concerned that in championing a rebuild Gov. Gregoire might eventually paint herself into a corner, but by her own words, she has clearly reiterated that she is willing to consider a surface option, if she can be convinced that it maintains mobility. I can’t see how one can read this any other way. And no, it doesn’t represent a shift in position.

No doubt a rebuild overwhelmingly remains Gov. Gregoire’s preferred option. But if in the wake of a No/No March 13 vote Mayor Nickels can abandon the tunnel he’s championed, and campaign for a surface option without losing face (and the smart money is on exactly that,) then surely the Governor can give surface proponents the opportunity to persuade her that they can develop an alternative that meets the criteria set forth in the EIS.

And once Seattle voters speak, and the political food fight comes to an end, that’s exactly what I expect the Governor to do.

Lynn Allen gets an interview with Governor Gregoire. Here’s the Governor’s answer concerning the “surface plus transit” option:

We did entertain it earlier but couldn’t make it work. We have a set of criteria we have to meet. We have to maintain safety. We have to meet capacity for both moving freight and people in that corridor.

We’re not accommodating increases in capacity if we either rebuild the viaduct or build a new tunnel. There won’t be an increase in today’s capacity. It’s now somewhere in the neighborhood of 110,000 per day.

Gregoire says she wants to move “both freight and people.” She then cites the number of cars that use the corridor, not the number of people. I don’t know if Governor Gregoire knows the difference between moving cars and moving people, or why that’s important. Also, I have no clue how she can say that “we’re not accommodating increases in capacity” by rebuilding a viaduct or a tunnel. I don’t believe the facts bear this out.

Read the whole interview (thankfully, it’s not all about the viaduct).

• Homeless people love the Viaduct. This is so very wrong, people. Very, very wrong.
• For Lent, Nick gave up talking about the ’08 campaign. This, coming from a guy who once told me there are seven different kinds of Southern Democrats. What did Nick not give up for Lent? Astute political analysis at his blog, Electoral Math.
• Postman:
  

  Chris Mulick of the Tri-City Herald writes:

  Longtime Richland state Rep. Shirley Hankins has repeatedly used the power of her office in the past five years to muscle state and local officials into directing business to her two daughters’ struggling tire baling company.

  A Herald investigation shows the Republican lawmaker’s efforts to promote Northwest Tire Recycling have ranged from carefully indirect to downright blunt, and the tactics raise questions about abuse of power.

  Hankins denies any wrongdoing or applying excessive pressure. Her hometown paper says that the work on behalf of the company included lobbying the state Department of Ecology.

  Who do I think should run against Rep. Hankins in ’08? This guy.

• Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels is rocking the keyboard at a Seattle Times live chat tomorrow at noon right now!!!

Seattle is the sixth worst waterfront city, according to the Project of Public Spaces.

Seattle residents adore their scenic mountain vistas. But increasingly they are seeing them through windshields while stuck in gridlock on the Alaskan Way Viaduct, an elevated highway that divides downtown Seattle from the waterfront.

[…]

The situation is quite similar to what San Francisco faced in the aftermath of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, which finally led the city to demolish the elevated Embarcadero Freeway. San Francisco made a difficult decision: They did not rebuild this busy artery. Today they are reaping the dividends with the greatest waterfront renaissance in the United States. Seattle could also make huge gains by taking down the Viaduct along the waterfront, and investing in transit service instead. The waterfront now feels disconnected from downtown, but the removal of the viaduct would open up new links between people and Puget Sound. Public destinations that are floundering today would flourish.

But what the fuck do they know? They’re just a bunch of people who know a lot about

“environmental design, architecture, urban planning, urban geography, environmental psychology, landscape architecture, arts administration and information management. The staff also collaborates on projects with architecture, landscape architecture and engineering firms, graphic design firms, transportation consultants, retail planners and community organizations.”

But Seattle is different and more special than every other place in the world! Nothing that worked in any other city could work here! Besides, it’s a state highway! That’s all that should matter! State highway! State highway! State highway!

James Vesely, the Seattle Times columnist who referred to Darcy Burner as “Miss Bruner” several times during the Reichert-Burner debate he moderated last fall, comes to some odd conclusions in his Sunday column:

Winners: Anti-incumbents; legislators who see Seattle as losing some of its power; Dino Rossi; eager challengers to City Council members; King County Executive Ron Sims, who is working on a surface and tolling plan; and maybe the Port of Seattle by staying out of this mess.

I’m not sure which incumbents Vesely is talking about. David Della, a rebuild supporter, is the biggest target in this fall’s city elections. With every single Democratic legislative district declining to endorse a Viaduct rebuild, Della will have to clam up about his support of a big freeway on the waterfront.

Dino Rossi doesn’t seem to understand the basic parameters of the debate. Why Vesley makes him a winner is astounding. The Seattle Times seems to be going out of it’s way to make the irrelevant former senator relevant again.

Then there’s this:

The most passionate, emotional voice for the tunnel is Peter Steinbrueck’s; the calmest and most logical against a tunnel is Nick Licata’s. Go figure.

That’s weird. I was standing 10 feet away from Peter at a Friends of Seattle event when he bashed the hell out of th tunnel. You see, Peter’s for the “surface plus transit” option.

I’m rested, I’m tanned and I’m back. Okay, I’m kinda jet-lagged, and I’m my usual pasty-white self. But I am back, and I’m talking politics as unusual again tonight on “The David Goldstein Show” from 7PM to 10PM on Newsradio 710-KIRO. I like to go with the flow, so things could change, but here’s what I have lined up for tonight’s show:

7PM: What’s up (or down) with the Viaduct? Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels joins me at the top of the hour to talk about the latest developments in the ongoing debate over how to replace the Alaska Way Viaduct. Is WSDOT trying to bury tunnel? We’ll ask the mayor.

8PM: TBA

9PM: Did you ever get a really big break? And what did you do with it? The man who gave me my break at 710-KIRO is moving on, and I can’t thank him enough. I want to hear from you on how a big break might have changed your life, and give you the opportunity to thank your benefactor. (Or maybe, I’ll just rant about a bunch of stuff.)

Tune in tonight (or listen to the live stream) and give me a call: 1-877-710-KIRO (5476).

“This is not a pipe” -Belgian Surrealist René Magritte

“This report was not a report” -American Surrealist Holly Armstrong

I read this comment by “shoephone” at Washblog:

I was disappointed that Will produced a photo that presumes much and explains nothing. I’ll wait for the facts on what’s actually IN the study. Or file folder. Or pretty white and yellow binder.

I want to explain the binder in the photo, and exactly what is in it. First, this is from Mike Lindblom’s excellent story in the Seattle Times:

A previously unreleased report shows that when the state’s Alaskan Way Viaduct project team examined a four-lane-tunnel concept in January, the group thought the tunnel could handle the expected traffic.

Since then, the state Department of Transportation (DOT) reversed course, concluding Feb. 13 that the option nicknamed “Tunnel Lite” — in which cars would use the shoulders as exit-only lanes at peak times — would be unsafe. Gov. Christine Gregoire promptly declared she would only support a $2.8 billion six-lane elevated highway.

Staffers in the pro-tunnel administration of Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels say they’re outraged the DOT didn’t mention the 50-page report during weeks of intense public debate. A state DOT administrator called the report relatively insignificant and said the issues it covers have been aired in public.

The fifty page report mentioned in the article is, in fact, an executive summary of the eight hundred and fifty page report prepared by Parsons Brinckerhoff, well-known engineering firm.

WashDOT calls that 850 page report “relatively insignificant,” or a “glorified file memo.” That report, which approved of the Hybrid Tunnel, was ignored four weeks later when Governor Gregoire announced the Hybrid Tunnel wouldn’t work.

That’s the report in the binder. WashDOT flip flopped, and now they’re trying to hide it.

According to Holly Armstrong, spokeswoman for the governor, this:

is NOT a report. Then what is it? An eight hundred and fifty page piece of brainstorming?

According to David Dye (WS-DOT’s urban corridor guy), this:

is a “glorified file memo.” Sure, right.

I wonder if Seattle’s legislators, many of whom signed a letter saying they do not support WS-DOT’s ‘rebuild’ option, are going hold somebody accountable over this ignored study.

Oops… I mean “glorified file memo.”