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Streets May Hold Solution To Seattle's Freeway Problem

Posted by: Nate Berg

13 December 2007 - 9:00am

The governor of Washington is leaning towards surface street options and public transit as possible solutions to the traffic problem posed by Seattle's crumbling inner city freeway, the Alaskan Way Viaduct.

"Gregoire said she has begun to think broadly about mobility and about Seattle's future as an 'international city' — marked by population growth, a leading seaport and increased tourism — that needs a hospitable waterfront."

"'If this is to be an international city, we'll have to look at the entire system. Once you do that, the surface option becomes an open question,' she said in a telephone interview Tuesday."

"The viaduct, built in 1953, is undergoing emergency strengthening of four support columns; DOT is preparing to rebuild the south segment from Qwest Field to the West Seattle Bridge. But the layout between downtown and Elliott Bay remains in dispute. State funds are available for a $2.8 billion elevated highway, but many Seattle residents and leaders consider it a monstrosity and instead support expanded buses, rail, ridesharing, ferries and street changes."

"Earlier this year, Gregoire was skeptical of surface travel as an alternative."

Full Story: Gregoire now open to options besides viaduct replacement
Source: The Seattle Times, December 13, 2007
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Good News About Seattle Freeway

Submitted by Charles Siegel on Fri, 12/14/2007 - 13:40.

This is big news. Initially, both the mayor and the governor rejected the streets-plus-transit alternative to replacing the Alaska Way Viaduct. After the voters rejected both an underground freeway and a replacement viaduct, the mayor said he would consider streets-plus-transit, but the governor continued to say a freeway was needed. Now the governor also is considering streets-plus-transit.

Now, for the first time, it seems most likely that this freeway will be removed rather than replaced. This will be the most important freeway removal in the US to date, in terms of the shift from automobiles to transit that it requires.

Charles Siegel

Its actually very similar in

Submitted by wes on Wed, 12/19/2007 - 11:50.

Its actually very similar in nature to San Francisco's Embarcadero freeway and Central freeway (I was there during this one) removal decisions. Though, I think there is a much larger pro-freeway lobby here in Seattle (I am now here in Seattle for this one...freeways seem to be endanger of falling down wherever I go). I have heard so many arguments about this: from the regular run of the mill argument such as I am in (insert outlying neighborhood or suburb here) and I rely upon this freeway to reach my job; to the kitchen sink argument regarding how excellent the view of the Sound is from the freeway and removing it would privatize and transfer those views to rich waterfront condo owners. These folks are very creative in there desperate cries to keep the ugly thing.

Elevated Freeways in Seattle

Submitted by chrisinsobe on Wed, 12/19/2007 - 12:45.

As a planning student long ago at the University of Washington, I recall that Seattle always had a “car” mentality, far more so than in San Francisco. Unlike denser and more urban San Francisco, there are large areas within Seattle which are almost suburban in character (especially the northern third of the city)… these areas are still very much car country. Seattle residents had routinely voted down various rail transit proposals going all the way back to the late 1960s. The single light rail line now under construction, at long last, is still being continually downsized at every opportunity by the powerful anti-transit/pro-car folks in Seattle. Also, in contrast to San Francisco, many of Seattle’s movers and shakers live in municipalities outside of the central city, in places like Mercer Island or in the wealthy residential enclaves along the east shore of Lake Washington. A lot of these folks just want quick ways to get their SUVs in and out of downtown Seattle and couldn’t care less about how ugly Alaskan Way looks. It is encouraging, however, to see that replacing the Alaskan Way viaduct with another elevated highway is no longer a given. (As for the former Embarcadero Freeway along SF's waterfront, it was the business-owners and merchants in Chinatown who fought hardest to stop it from being torn down.)

Tearing Freeways Down

Submitted by Charles Siegel on Wed, 12/19/2007 - 12:29.

I am glad to hear that you tend to bring freeways down. We need people like you in all the major American cities.

There actually was a very strong movement to keep SF's Embarcadero freeway, including the argument that it provided a great view to drivers - strong enough that the freeway removal was defeated by the voters and was not revived until after the freeway was damaged by an earthquake. See my history at http://www.preservenet.com/freeways/FreewaysEmbarcadero.html.

Since the Embarcadero was just a stub and the Alaska Way is a mainline freeway, I would expect that removing the Alaska Way would be harder - but in Seattle, the voters did the right thing and voted against the freeway replacements.

Charles Siegel

Actually, the Embarcadero

Submitted by chrisinsobe on Wed, 12/19/2007 - 13:44.

Actually, the Embarcadero Freeway was intended to continue north along the waterfront connecting to the Golden Gate Bridge via Doyle Drive, so in original concept, not much different from the Alaskan Way in Seattle (the Embarcadero, too, was intended to be a mainline freeway, an elevated traffic sewer along the entire northeast SF waterfront). The overwhelming ugliness of the initial 1-mile-long built section, however, (which stub-ended at Broadway with an off-ramp leading to Chinatown; I'm old enough to remember what it looked like pre-1989) set into motion the freeway revolt in San Francisco back in 1959. Of course, it took another 30 years, until the 1989 earthquake, to get rid of that eyesore. In Seattle, where the car lobby is much stronger, it looks like they are finally beginning to move in the right direction.

More Details about the Embarcadero

Submitted by Charles Siegel on Wed, 12/19/2007 - 13:49.

More details of this history, with pictures, are at at http://www.preservenet.com/freeways/FreewaysEmbarcadero.html.

Yes, I know it was originally meant to continue, but since it did not actually continue, they only had to tear down a stub.

Charles Siegel

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