Anti-viaduct tunnel initiative going forward
An initiative to prohibit replacing Seattle's Alaskan Way Viaduct with a tunnel will soon be circulating and backers will have until mid-summer to gather enough signatures for it to be approved by the City Council or put to a city vote.
The coincidentally-designated Initiative 99, filed by Elizabeth Campbell, of Magnolia, was submitted to the City Clerk's office the day Gov. Christine Gregoire, Mayor Greg Nickels and King County Executive Ron Sims announced agreement to build the $4.2-billion tunnel.
Petitions and a ballot title were approved this week, said City Clerk Judith Pippin. The viaduct is part of Highway 99.
The initiative, if approved, would prohibit use of public property for a tunnel. Campbell and her supporters have until July 20 to collect at least 17,968 voter signatures in order to bring the measure to the council, which could adopt it or place it on the ballot.
Campbell said locations for signing the petitions will be listed on a web site, www.yesviaduct.com. She said she expects to use paid signature gatherers as well as volunteers to circulate petitions to registered city voters.
Selection of the tunnel was promoted by a number of downtown and business interests as a way to remove the viaduct from the waterfront but maintain traffic flow through downtown. It was approved despite rejection of the idea by officials of the state, city and county transportation departments as too costly.
Campbell called the idea "laughable ... a toy tunnel" that would serve mainly north- and southbound through traffic that bypasses downtown now and not those trying to get downtown. She supports replacing the viaduct with a cable-stay bridge over Elliott Bay. That idea was rejected by the state.
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer is a media partner of KOMO News. Read the complete P-I story with comments.
The coincidentally-designated Initiative 99, filed by Elizabeth Campbell, of Magnolia, was submitted to the City Clerk's office the day Gov. Christine Gregoire, Mayor Greg Nickels and King County Executive Ron Sims announced agreement to build the $4.2-billion tunnel.
Petitions and a ballot title were approved this week, said City Clerk Judith Pippin. The viaduct is part of Highway 99.
The initiative, if approved, would prohibit use of public property for a tunnel. Campbell and her supporters have until July 20 to collect at least 17,968 voter signatures in order to bring the measure to the council, which could adopt it or place it on the ballot.
Campbell said locations for signing the petitions will be listed on a web site, www.yesviaduct.com. She said she expects to use paid signature gatherers as well as volunteers to circulate petitions to registered city voters.
Selection of the tunnel was promoted by a number of downtown and business interests as a way to remove the viaduct from the waterfront but maintain traffic flow through downtown. It was approved despite rejection of the idea by officials of the state, city and county transportation departments as too costly.
Campbell called the idea "laughable ... a toy tunnel" that would serve mainly north- and southbound through traffic that bypasses downtown now and not those trying to get downtown. She supports replacing the viaduct with a cable-stay bridge over Elliott Bay. That idea was rejected by the state.
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer is a media partner of KOMO News. Read the complete P-I story with comments.