seattle city council viaduct replacement vote

[flytiw]

So the city council's response to the price tag for the tunnel going up by nearly $2 billion is to recommend the tunnel option and to pull the advisory vote from the November ballot. The reason given for not having the public weigh in at the ballot box is that the question would only "confuse" voters. What's so confusing about picking the tunnel,

Comments

[sarastro_us]

Bitter experience with the monorail has taught the city council that the voters lose direction while picking their noses.

[flytiw]

The city wanted the monorail dead from the start. If they had given the SMP more of a chance to fix the financing, like Sound Transit got with Link, they wouldn't have to keep sending it back to the voters. Even though I voted for the monorail all 5 times, I can see why people were sick and tired of the whole mess.

[flytiw]

Actually I lied, I was only a resident of the city for the last vote, but I would have voted for it the other 4 times

[uwkyler]

The cost of materials will only increase while we sit around talking about it.

[flytiw]

Not to mention labor, permits, mitigation, and the cost of land for eminent domain

I would have voted for surface boulevard

[velvetsmog]

Not probably part of the equation, but my 2 cents.

We elect officials to make these decisions. Unless we're talking about funding for this project in terms of a tax increase, I don't want to vote on it. You can't digest the pros and cons of a transit project down to sound bites without screwing up the vote.

Re: I would have voted for surface boulevard

[flytiw]

Very true. I just find the timing suspect.

Re: I would have voted for surface boulevard

[velvetsmog]

Eh, I think they realized it was out of their hands. They can recommend whatever they want to the Governor, but Chris is gonna do what she's gonna do. Having a non-binding advisory vote two months from now provides little benefit and plenty of cannon fodder for anyone running against a city councilperson.

[decidedlyodd]

Voters don't know what they want. The city council, the county and the state all need to grow a spine and demonstrate leadership on these issues. The differences between all the options are complex and will have a substantial impact on taxes, traffic and the general appearance of the waterfront. As a voter, I don't have tons of time to analyze the cost/benefit of all the options.

Plus, the initiative process has become driven largely by who can raise the most cash for or against. Just look at Tim Eyman's crusades...