The architects and allied design professionals of AIA Seattle share a sense of the urgency of remedying the failing seawall and the seismically unsound Alaskan Way Viaduct.
As Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels and others have stated, we believe that our city deserves and has a special opportunity at this time to create a great waterfront, for the enjoyment of all citizens and visitors as well as to serve the vital requirements of communities throughout our city, our state, and our region. We believe that any new infrastructure must leverage its investment by creating a better city and a better future for its residents. We commend the vision, leadership, and advocacy which Mayor Nickels has brought to this critical issue and opportunity.
We believe that any proposal for replacing the transportation capacity of the Viaduct, and for creating a vital place along Seattle's central waterfront, must achieve these urban design objectives:
.Connect the City with the waterfront, creating a new public space that enhances the life of the community, supports our shoreline environment and our economy, and creates a great place in support of our public life;
.Create a sustainable solution for Seattle's future, supportive of reducing greenhouse gases and protecting a healthy marine environment;
.Incorporate multiple modes of transportation, and anticipate changing technologies and patterns of mobility;
.Support a mix of vibrant uses along the waterfront, with 24-hour publicly accessible urban services, accommodating all of Seattle's citizens.
Consistent with these objectives, we support the following current and longer-term goals, and urge our colleagues to join us in advocating and acting to carry out their intentions:
.PERMANENTLY REMOVE THE VIADUCT AND DON'T REBUILD IT.
.Support expanded mobility planning and implementation, specifically to understand ways in which we can better utilize the existing transportation infrastructure by distributing the existing traffic capacity of SR 99 into the City's street grid.
.Build a cut-and-cover tunnel, if complete financing can be guaranteed and the State's expert panel warrants the viability of the tunnel, and further if its design meets the objectives stated above. If a cut-and-cover tunnel design cannot meet these assurances, then AIA Seattle supports replacing the Alaskan Way Viaduct with an integrated system of surface streets and transit modes, and no more than four lanes of a new Alaskan Way.
