It’s Time to Move Forward: APPROVE Referendum 1

Enough is enough. We all know the Alaskan Way Viaduct is dangerous and needs to be replaced.

For ten years, we’ve studied every conceivable option. As representatives of Pike Place Market, neighborhood  businesses, and working families, we participated in many of these discussions, and we were happy to reach consensus with transportation engineers, citizen advisory panels, the Seattle City Council, King County Executive and Governor to move people and freight with a tunnel.  Construction contracts have been awarded and work has begun—ahead of schedule and under budget.  Why are we second-guessing this now?

The tunnel is the only option with funding from the state and the only option that keeps the Viaduct open during construction.

APPROVE Ref 1: We Cannot Afford More Delay, Broken Promises

We’ve talked about replacing the Viaduct longer than it took to fight WW II. Mayor Mike McGinn and other Ref 1 opponents use delay and obstruction to push their own agenda, which is to replace the Viaduct with nothing and force 110,000 cars on city streets and I-5, with no state money for transit or road improvements. What does this “surface option” means for you? More traffic, more delay, busses and freight caught in gridlock. 

APPROVE Ref 1: To Hold Politicians Accountable

During his campaign, Mayor McGinn promised to NOT stand in the way of the tunnel but quickly broke his promise: creating legal and political paralysis. Mayor McGinn, with Tim Eyman’s support, worked to get Ref 1 on the ballot.  Tell them to stop by approving Ref. 1.

APPROVE Ref 1: For Environmental Improvements on our Waterfront

The tunnel package includes bike and pedestrian investments, parks and open space, salmon habitat and storm water improvements that will protect the Sound. 

APPROVE Ref 1: Progress over Endless Process

The text of Ref. 1 is confusing and voters have a right to be angry and impatient. Legal experts and reporters acknowledge it’s not an up-or-down vote on the tunnel. But we are at a crossroads: Either we reaffirm the progress we’ve made, or waste time and taxpayer money with more litigation. We urge you to APPROVE Ref. 1, and let’s move forward.

Referendum 1 is your opportunity to tell the politicians to reject a tolled deep-bore tunnel replacement of the Alaskan Way Viaduct.

In Seattle, we consistently vote to spend our limited public dollars on things that align with our priorities and will create a better future for our city – things like parks, libraries, community centers, transit, families and education, housing, Pike Place Market, and fixing our streets – things we all use and value.

In the past, when politicians have tried to push through projects that don’t fit our priorities, like razing Pike Place Market or building an expressway through the Arboretum, we’ve come together as a city, rejected their plan and told them we deserve better. 

In 2009, politicians cut a risky and expensive backroom deal to pursue a tolled tunnel under Seattle.  In an economic downturn, they chose a Viaduct replacement option with no exits downtown, and a price tag one billion dollars more than other solutions.  Since that day, they have refused to have a transparent conversation about the project or explain how they will address the project’s practical and financial failures.

The facts about the tolled tunnel are clear – it will:

• Result in significant tax increases to cover the $700 million project funding deficit;
• Stick Seattle taxpayers with the bill for cost overruns, thanks to a state law enacted by the governor and the legislature;
• Increase congestion with $7-9 roundtrip tolls forcing tens of thousands of cars onto city streets; and
• Make transit service worse, since it includes NO money for improved transit service and the proposed mega-interchange in Pioneer Square will cause impenetrable congestion for West Seattle buses.

The tolled tunnel is a terrible idea that does not align with our priorities.  We can’t afford it, and it puts the future of our city at risk.  That’s why the politicians fought so hard to prevent a vote on it – because they know that if the public knew the facts about the tolled tunnel, then we would once again come together as a city and demand a better solution.

Seattle deserves a solution for replacing the Alaskan Way Viaduct that we can afford, makes it easier to get around, improves transit service, and does not threaten our other, more important priorities.  The most important step to a better solution is this vote, when we stand up to the politicians and reject Referendum 1.    

The opponents of Ref. 1 say things that simply aren’t true. Here are the facts:

• Despite opponent’s legal challenge, the City Ethics and Elections Commission said this vote only determines whether we move forward or get more process.
• We have had ten years of process, with hundreds of meetings and comments. A community stakeholder group—including environmental, bicycle, and transit advocates— recommended the deep-bore tunnel.
• The Viaduct replacement package includes $32 million for Metro Transit. King County is committed to an additional $190 million in transit investments.
• The tunnel is fully funded by the state, with $100’s of millions in reserves.
• Opponents don’t have a real solution—their “surface option” places the full cost on Seattle taxpayers. It is irresponsible for Mayor McGinn and other opponents to risk $2.4 billion of state money with no realistic alternative—only delay and obstruction.

Let’s move forward: Approve Ref. 1

Statement submitted by: Carol M. Binder, former Executive Director, Pike Place Market  •  David Freiboth, Executive Secretary, M.L King County Labor Council  •  Patricia Mullen, President, West Seattle Chamber of Commerce  •  www.letsmoveforward.org

The tunnel is not a done deal.  It's a bad plan, and we can stop it.

Imagine it was up to you to approve a $4.2 billion replacement of the Viaduct with the world’s largest tunnel, but the design included no downtown exits, cost hundreds of millions more than your budget, and stuck Seattle taxpayers with cost overruns.

You’d say, “There must be a better way.”

There is, and other options that have been largely ignored cost at least $1billion less than this luxury project.

Seattle’s healthy future depends on a practical solution that saves money for other priorities.

Instead of arguing the tolled tunnel’s merits, or addressing the project’s many serious problems, tunnel backers simply say we’re too far down the road to reconsider.  They make this about personalities as opposed to facts, and say the vote doesn’t matter.  Seattle, we are smarter than that.

REJECT Referendum 1.

Statement submitted by: 

Cary Moon, People’s Waterfront Coalition • Tim Harris, Real Change News • Kevin Fullerton, Sierra Club • www.protectseattlenow.org • 206-913-3725

http://www2.seattle.gov/ethics/vg/20110816.asp

Simple majority (Seattle City Charter Article IV)