Gregoire promises to remove the viaduct whether Seattle likes it or not:
With or without Seattle’s approval, the state will tear down the earthquake-damaged Alaskan Way Viaduct in 2012, Gov. Chris Gregoire said Thursday.
“It’s coming down in 2012. I’m taking it down — the middle,” she said, referring to the elevated portion of the span that runs roughly from Battery Street Tunnel to Pioneer Square, which has been the most vexing and controversial piece of the transportation puzzle.
“That’s the timeline. I’m not going to fudge on it. And if we don’t have some alternative by then, boy are we going to have a mess on our hands because it’s coming down.”
Great. Bring it down no one will miss it, that’s been my position for ever.
The Daily Journal of Commerce ran a great piece by Claire Enlow about how we are reaching “peak pavement” (best quote so far of 2008).
You’ve heard of peak oil. That’s the point when oil production is at its maximum and begins to decline. We don’t know when it’s coming, or if it has already passed. Some would argue that oil is a kind of renewable resource. The earth makes it and we use it, like teenagers on an allowance.
But by the time we know how much oil is left it may be too late. The impacts of oil and the cost of our dependence on it may overwhelm anything we can do to reverse the damage. That would include global warming, massive pollution and distorted international relations.
She talks about how great the streetcar is. The streetcar is okay, real rail is awesome.
Apparently, the 306 and 312 have terrible service and sometimes they are so crowded that they stop picking up passengers at some of the last few stops. Yikes. I’ve seen the same problem on the 545 where the bus doesn’t even stop at Montlake sometimes when it’s really crowded. The scary thing: sadly, trunk route service will degrade as traffic gets worse.
Finally, Tim Eyman has a rediculous transportation initiative for next year.