The people of Seattle have spoken and have clearly said that our waterfront is no place for a highway, regardless of elevation. As of 8:03 this evening nearly 55 percent of voters rejected a rebuild and an astounding 70 percent of voters rejected Mayor Gridlock’s pipe dream! Directly implied by the results is the fact that our leadership on all levels is failing and hasn’t got a damn clue!

So what are our options now? Well, let’s review the possibilities:
1. Greg “BUT I WANT MY TUNNEL!” Nickels keeps pushing for a tunnel. Gets elected out of office.
2. The governor pushes the rebuild on Seattle anyway. Peter Steinbrueck leads his proverbial army into battle against the evil monarch in true Braveheart fashion. Steinbrueck wins after much blood is spilled, Gregoire loses the Seattle vote and is unequivocally replaced in 2008.
3. Argue some more. Wait for nature to do its job. Hundreds die in the collapse. Local and State leaders go to jail for negligence and we all start over.
4. Repair and Prepare. Retrofit temporarily to buy time to add real transit options. But if it is too costly…
5. Mitigate traffic. Fix the grid. Add true Bus Rapid Transit to the corridor. Create a surface boulevard. Start plans to extend light rail. 1000 little things. Start the end of auto dependence.

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 Viaduct’s future is now the subject of intense debate, due to doubts about its structural integrity. The road may require extensive reconstruction or be replaced with a tunnel. Over 100,000 cars use the Viaduct each day, and deciding its future will be far from easy, since some solutions involve shutting down sections of the central Seattle waterfront for as long as five years.

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.

There. World. Class. I’m glad that’s settled.

Photo courtesy of croctommy.

Subsequently, any comments should also be a haiku, or your favorite style of poetry.

February 8, 2007 at 6.15pm PST
Camera: Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT
Exposure: 0.005 sec (1/200)
Aperture: f/11
Focal Length: 34 mm
All Rights Reserved

There are many disjointed, angsty thoughts in my head at the moment, each wanting a chance to find a scapegoat to sacrifice in hopes that some pagan god might give me a train. But at the moment, I’m just too tired to care. Too much whining. Too much studying. Too many last minute changes. Too much indecision. Too many bad decisions when someone actually decides something. It’s wearing. I just have one request to shout to the world before The Decider makes a royal decree concerning the viaduct.

For the love of all that this pure and good in the world, please do not let them rebuild the monstrosity that is the viaduct!!

I need to hang out with this guy and steal some of his mojo.

Nothing says I love you like a 5k. Sign up for the Love ‘Em or Leave ‘Em Valentine’s Day Dash at Greenlake this Sunday, February 11. Registration is available at the door, er, tent.

Via philomythus