Group Wants Alaskan Way Viaduct Gone With No Replacement

How about, nothing. Knock it down.

"It's a dead zone underneath it. It's a scar through the city. If you are someone who enjoys the waterfront, you are definitely enjoying it under the pain of this noise," said Grant Cogswell of the People's Waterfront Coalition.

The city of Seattle has five plans to replace the viaduct. The People's Waterfront Coalition wants a sixth, 'no highway' option.

Forget about the $4 billion to $6 billion 'mega projects', the tunnels and new highways, they say. Get rid of it and develop new parks, homes and businesses.

But, what happens to the 110,000 of us who use the viaduct every day?

"You're just creating more of a cluster," said Sound resident, Kevin Larsen.

Thy Nguyen says, "I'd love to make better use of this area. But, definitely we need alternatives to replace it."

And, another Sound resident, Abraham Gonzalez, worries I-5 traffic would get more miserable. "Putting more traffic on, it's not going to make it any better, It's going to make it worse."

Or not, says People's Waterfront Coalition. Their plan calls for us to fix current roads so they could absorb viaduct traffic. For example: create 'freight only' lanes on I-5, time downtown stop lights so cars flow better, push mass transit, and redesign I-5 on and off ramps.

"It's not a matter of taking hundreds of acres to fulfill the need of drivers, it's a matter of moving the ramps," said Cogswell.

But moving people's mindset may be an even bigger challenge. The coalition hopes people will attend the cities three planned public hearings on the viaduct.

They are:

Downtown: Tues. April 27, The Arctic Building, 700 3rd Ave, 4-7 p.m.

West Seattle: Wed. April 28, Lafayette Elementary School, 2645 California Ave, 5-8 p.m.

Ballard: Thurs. April 29, Leif Erikson Hall, 2245 NW 57th St, 5-8 p.m.

For More Information:

The Peoples Waterfront Web site -- www.peopleswaterfront.org
The City Transportation Web site -- www.wsdot.wa.gov.