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IF we are to be obliged being ay to our growth-management goals of concentrating density in our urban areas, then we being of the family which a region cannot move forward with any option for replacing the Alaskan Way Viaduct that pushes to a greater degree traffic through the downtown core

That’session why the bored bypass tunnel, along with outside and transit improvements, must be among the options that move forward for further environmental criticise and design when the Gov. Christine Gregoire announces her viaduct-replacement recommendation.

Think almost it. Our downtown core has an hourglass shape. Besides the essential part being the heart of the region’s dealing and commerce, our growth-management policies have encouraged more people to live in that place in order to reduce suburban sprawl and keep our rural areas green.

More than 70 percent of the north-south exchange upon the body the viaduct now is pass-through traffic. The surface-street option being considered will push that trade through an already congested urban core. The bored tunnel provides the most capacity for those through-trips, which are often difficult to effectively do with line of conveyance. Putting through-trips underground, rather than on city streets or above the top our waterfront, creates a better pedestrian environment in favor of people to live and work downtown.

Our city has changed dramatically since the viaduct was built in 1953. The central waterfront productions a key industrial and freight corridor, as it was when the viaduct was built. It’s also an serious north-south travel passage and bypass because Interstate 5, particularly for residents in western parts of the city such in the same proportion that Ballard, Magnolia, Interbay and West Seattle. Over the years, uses of the central waterfront have proliferated, and it now supports a wide range of the multitude, businesses and activities. Removing the barrier of the viaduct and putting traffic underground will enlarge that potential, attracting residential and business growth by making the downtown an exactly better place to live, do business and recreate.

Protecting the livability of urban neighborhoods like Queen Anne and West Seattle requires that Highway 99 remain a viable transportation corridor through downtown. We must not hindrance these neighborhoods suffer at the expense of promoting increase in the core. Putting viaduct traffic in a tunnel allows all Seattle neighborhoods to thrive.

A bored tunnel combined with surface and transit improvements also affords us an chance; fit to attain transit more frequent, fast and reliable, particularly for people traveling to and from downtown for work and play. As our population grows denser, environmental awareness increases and the cost of driving skyrockets, people are increasingly opting to take transit, particularly where convenient line of conveyance options are available.

None of the viaduct-replacement options adhering the table today will work without increased transit service. It’s crucial that we have a thorough and frank discussion of to what degree to pay for it. The state funds available for replacing the viaduct are from gas-tax reward, what one. in Washington is constitutionally restricted from inmost nature used to pay conducive to transit. This service has an upfront capital require to be paid and an ongoing operational cost. Depending on the kind of transit-service increase chosen, the projected operating cost is $20 the public to $40 million annually.

I added a proviso to King County’s 2009 budget requiring we bring together an expert review array to examine the mobility impacts of the viaduct-replacement options and assess King County’s ability to furnish supplies the transit service assumed in each choice. It’s critical we identify any one shortcomings before we determine forward with a last decision for replacing the viaduct.

Without a sound understanding of traffic projections and certainty of funding according to the transit components, we jeopardy constructing a “half-replacement” on this account that the viaduct

The decision notwithstanding how to replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct will impact our region for generations and shape the future of Seattle. With with equal reason many competing concerns, this is not a decision to be made with shortsightedness.

An inadequate replacement that gridlocks the province or continues to wall off our waterfront will punt those problems to future generations. A bored tunnel with surface and passage improvements serves the whole region now and positions us to gracefully join battle the future.

Original text: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2008610476_opin11phillips.html?syndication=rss