Gregoire: Voters should decide on Viaduct

As reported here, after mulling over the various options for replacing the Alaskan Way Viaduct, Governor Gregoire has decided to ... punt.

Gov. Chris Gregoire said [Friday] that the residents of Seattle should decide how to replace the aging and earthquake-damaged Alaskan Way Viaduct.

Gregoire was expected to announce her decision about what should be done - either replace it with a tunnel or rebuild it. Instead, she called for a city vote between rebuilding the structure or replacing it with a tunnel.

Note to Chris: This is a State highway, not a city highway, which means that the State is responsible for this highway, not the City of Seattle, and that responsibility includes making the decision about whether to replace it with another elevated structure (which would be the wrong decision), or with a tunnel (the right decision). We put you in office to make these kinds of decisions, and this is one of the toughest you would have made to be sure, not to cede your leadership back to the voters.

"I don't believe that, without a vote, either option will move forward," Gregoire said. "We need to hear directly from the people for whom this decision has the most impact."

The earliest a vote will take place will be in April of 2007, which will be over six years since the Nisqually earthquake happened. Now, we will have to wait some more, before something is decided, and due to the shortsightedness of many in Seattle, that will probably be a new Viaduct, rather than a tunnel, simply due to the construction cost difference. The existing Viaduct is a major eyesore - not to mention a disaster waiting to happen - blocking views of one of our biggest tourist attractions - the Seattle waterfront - from most of downtown, and that won't change with a rebuild.

If the tunnel is built, however, this will give us the chance to enhance the waterfront with parks and pedestrian promenades, as well as allow new businesses to be developed to take advantage of the tourists coming to visit the waterfront. The number of tourists visiting a revitalized waterfront would only increase, which would translate into more dollars being pumped into the Seattle economy, and the creation of more jobs.

But, Gregoire wants the citizens to vote on this, instead of showing leadership and making the decision herself.

Note to Chris: In the future, when you decide to punt, make sure we're not having a major storm blow through, ok? You badly shanked this one into the wind.