No seriously. The Port of Seattle has sent me a mail touting the “sustainable project” that is the $413 million parking garage near Sea-Tac:
Consolidated Rental Car Facility
In mid-May, the Port of Seattle Commission gave final approval for the construction of a consolidated Rental Car Facility (RCF) adjacent to Sea-Tac Airport.
…
10,000 to 14,000 Vehicles Processed Each Day
Don’t think of the RCF as a parking garage. Instead, think of it as a processing facility with 10,000 to 14,000 vehicles entering and leaving each day.
…
A Sustainable Project
The RCF is the very first sustainable demonstration project and sustainable asset management pilot project for the Airport, meaning it is designed to be built and operated in as economically and environmentally advanced manner as possible. Key attributes include:
- Reducing/’right-sizing’ its dimension’s to decrease areas that need cooling, heating and ventilation;
- Requiring all interior construction to use low volatile organic compound paints, sealants, adhesives and carpeting;
- Implementing an on-site recycling program throughout the facility and,
- Fully treating both construction and RCF stormwater to prevent sediment and pollutants from reaching local creeks.
We are proud that construction of the Consolidated Rental Car Facility will begin in the coming weeks. The amount of detailed planning that has gone into the RCF is nothing short of extraordinary and I am confident the state-of-the art facility will be embraced by both the rental car industry and its customers. I also believe that the RCF will become a source of pride for the region, a signature landmark for the City of SeaTac and set the bar for what truly represents a sustainable rental car facility.
For the record, I dislike this project because it costs $413 million. I don’t care about the parking garage itself; if it were free I wouldn’t think twice. And I don’t mean to belittle the seemingly earnest attempt to make the project as environmentally friendly as possible, but nonsense about sustainable parking garages comes off as kind of hilarious.
For an agency that gets $40 million each year in public money, and essentially runs a monopoly on our region’s air transportation, I don’t think this a good way to spend its money. For comparison, the portion of link from Tukwila International Boulevard to the Airport (including the station) cost $145 million.
Man, think of all the ways $413 million could be spent to process 10,000 people.
Have you ever stopped to consider whether that garage will make money? Maybe it will pay back the cost?
Yeah I think it kind of misses the point of the whole sustainability thing.
So the paint and carpet will be VOC-free.
What about the other $412 million?
Also, there’s nothing ‘innovative’ here. These types of facilities have been built for decades.
It’s just another way for the Port to free up more parking space in the main garage and maximize revenues by creating an incentive for people to drive to the airport.
I wonder if they’ve accounted for the fact that parking fees and customers will likely drop substantially once Link is finished.
wow, the newspeak is mesmerizing!
who needs robert mak for your communications director when you’ve got the BS artists at the POS slinging this type of trash out to unquestioning media.
i can’t wait for the “sustainable” new viaduct to be erected along the waterfront. maybe they will use solar power for the lights on the signage and claim that the structure is carbon neutral.
oh seattle, you’re so green!
brad, adam, andrew, I know, totally unsustainable. It’s ridiculous to call a structure built for cars alone anything like that.
I think it kind of shows how imprecise the word “sustainable” is.
“Have you ever stopped to consider whether that garage will make money? Maybe it will pay back the cost?”
Make money…so the Port can build more parking garages!
I hope the Port of Seattle is paying for this monument to the automobile through fees, not the general taxes they impose on our property (sans public votes)