Alaskan Way Viaduct & Seawall Project
The Council unanimously approved Council Bill 115888 directing $8.1 million to develop an Urban Mobility Plan that replaces the Alaskan Way Viaduct with a range of strategic transportation projects. Councilmember Peter Harrell, Vice-Chair of the Transportation Committee, said, "The replacement of the viaduct is a fantastic opportunity to begin the creation of a 21st century transportation system. The car can no longer rule all our decisions. There's got to be a better way." The Council directed the Seattle Department of Transportation to propose changes to the existing surface street grid and transit service to absorb the Viaduct’s current share of vehicle trips. Councilmember Jan Drago, Chair of the Transportation Committee, said,
"The billions we will spend replacing the Viaduct will only be a sound investment if we focus on moving people and goods, not vehicles." Council President Nick Licata said, "We cannot guess how many of the Viaduct's vehicle trips will be absorbed by downtown streets or improved transit; we need hard numbers before we take down the Viaduct."
Visions/concepts for the Seattle Waterfront
Legislation
- COUNCIL BILL 115720 -Adopting the tunnel alternative as the City of Seattle's preferred alternative for replacement of the Alaskan Way Viaduct and Seattle Seawall.
- COUNCIL BILL 115737 -Relating to the central waterfront, declaring that an aerial highway along the central waterfront is discouraged by adopted City of Seattle ("City") policies, stating that construction of an aerial highway structure is inconsistent with current use and height regulations, and stating the City's intent to amend existing regulations and policies to further clarify that an aerial highway structure in the central waterfront area is inconsistent with the City's Comprehensive Plan.
- RESOLUTION 30918 -Requesting that the State of Washington (State) evaluate whether to proceed with the tunnel alternative at a point when actual costs can be better determined, requesting the State to work with the City on early implementation of certain elements of the Project, and providing for City analysis of a transit and surface streets alternative if the tunnel alternative proves to be infeasible.
- RESOLUTION 30724 -Adopting Guiding Principles for decisions related to the Alaskan Way Viaduct and Seawall Project.
- RESOLUTION 30725 -Establishing a framework for an Alaskan Way Viaduct/Seawall Project Safety and Transition Plan to effectively manage potential emergency closures and the lengthy transition to the changes in the transportation corridor, consisting of an Emergency Closure Plan, a Construction Strategy, the Center City Access Strategy, a Flexible Transportation Strategy, and a Targeted Investment Strategy, and creating meaningful public involvement opportunities related to these plans and strategies.
- RESOLUTION 30726 -Declaring the Tunnel Option as the City's Preferred Alternative for replacement of the Alaskan Way Viaduct/Seawall Project (the Project), and expressing preferences for the design and development of the Project.
- Attachment A to the Resolution on Guiding Principles
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