Politicians Call on Seattle to Think Creatively About Freeway Problem
In this guest column, Washington Governor Christine Gregoire, Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels, and King County Executive Ron Sims argue that Seattle needs to find a creative solution to the problem posed by its aging inner-city freeway.
"It might surprise some to learn that crews are busy working on the Alaskan Way Viaduct right now. Yes, the center span — the 'riddle in the middle' — gets the attention, but construction is now under way on sections of the route that need to be fixed no matter how the riddle is solved. Indeed, this first-phase effort will replace 40 percent of the Alaskan Way Viaduct."
"After completing repair work on two columns, the state, King County and the city of Seattle are moving ahead on both the south and north ends of the Highway 99 corridor. This work, which begins with electrical-line relocation this fall, is the first step toward tremendous long-term benefits for our region."
"In addition, more buses will travel downtown, and construction projects to create a wider Spokane Street Viaduct and stadium-area ramps to Interstate 5 and Interstate 90 will begin this fall."
"But we know the mile in the middle is the real challenge."
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Freeway Removal In Toronto
Another freeway removal: "At a news conference today at Waterfront Toronto headquarters, it was officially announced that the Gardiner Expressway will be dismantled between Jarvis and the Don Valley Parkway..."
http://spacing.ca/wire/2008/05/30/gardiner-to-come-tumbling-down-kind-of...
There has not been much news coverage of the Gardiner in the US.
Charles Siegel
Another Seattle scam...
WashDOT has no intention of building anything other than another, larger double-deck freeway as a replacement for the Alaskan Way Viaduct. Neither a waterfront tunnel nor boulevard option are being seriously considered.
My evidence for this belief is the so-called 'upgrading' work being done on the Battery Street Tunnel on the north end of SR99 through downtown. The Battery Street Tunnel has to be 'lowered' some 25' at the west portal to reduce the incline of grade between there and the waterfront. Leaving it as is leaves the only option of rebuilding the viaduct. Also, WsDOT's first Waterfront tunnel proposals were extravagently expensive, going from ~$15 billion in grudging, arm-twisting steps over a year or two to about $4 billion. Why did WashDOT propose 'prohibitively expensive' tunnel options first?
Lowering the western portal of the Battery Street Tunnel would restore that area of town devastated by the viaduct and make both entrances and exits safer for motorists and pedestrians. I suspect it is the pedestrian safety improvements that WashDOT objects to the most.
Seattle Viaduct option.
Lowering the western portal of the Battery Street Tunnel would restore that area of town devastated by the viaduct and make both entrances and exits safer for motorists and pedestrians. I suspect it is the pedestrian safety improvements that WashDOT objects to the most.
Its been awhile since I thought about this, but IIRC lowering the tunnel makes a grade that pushes the limit for steepness (with the run-up) for trucks and buses.
Second, WSDOT may have many old-schoolers that want auto throughput, but I highly doubt they've regressed since I moved away.
IOW: not buying your 'analysis'.
Best,
D
Suggestion For Seattle
From the article: "We're getting letters and phone calls from residents eager to share their thoughts; we encourage the public to keep it up. At the end of June, we will start narrowing down the list to a handful of potential solutions, so the time to get involved is now."
My suggestion: parking cash-out. In the entire region where commuters use this freeway, require employers who now provide free parking to charge the full cost for parking and to give employees commute allowances to pay the cost.
This can lower commute traffic by 20% to 30%. Using a quick, top-of-my-head calculation, I find that it would almost make up for the capacity lost by replacing the viaduct with a surface boulevard.
Charles Siegel
Seattle's transit suggestions.
I don't have the ref handy, Charles, but taking a bus from, say, Kent to CBD is three times the commute time by car (Larry Frank uses this number, from a KingCo study).
That's not to say we shouldn't reduce auto traffic, but rather to say that significant investment in transit is needed to make it viable in many areas.
Best,
D
Commute Allowances Plus Transit
Dano:
I agree completely. Commute allowances are not a substitute for better transit. They complement better transit by giving people an incentive to use transit.
They are one part of that multi-dimensional approach they are talking about (and much better than the current proposals to remove on-street parking from downtown streets to add more lanes).
Charles Siegel