Pretty Green Wall
In case you weren’t paying attention over the summer, the list of options being considered by the Viaduct Stakeholder Advisory Committee no longer includes a retrofit/repair option. The mighty West Seattle Blog has posted piles of info. In short, the retrofit was taken off the table because it so blatantly fails to satisfy the safety and fiscal responsibility guidelines upon which the Stakeholder Committee must base their final recommendation. Not to mention that it also flunks two of the more qualitative guidelines: “enhance the waterfront as a place for people” and “foster environmentally sound approaches.”
But apparently the retrofitters still have a sliver of hope: the State has agreed to let Miyamoto International — the firm who’s 2006 report bolstered support for the retrofit — to have one more look, this time including analysis of the foundation and soil conditions beneath the viaduct. But the odds would appear to be long: “We don’t expect this will change the outcome at all,” according to WSDOT’s Ron Paananen.
I am so looking forward to the pandemonium that is sure to erupt in early 2009 when the Stakeholder Committee returns the only recommendation that it possibly can: a surface option. It will be a defining moment: Will the people step up and agree to do what is right, even in the face of risk and sacrifice? Or will selfishness and the short-term view rule the day?